A Giant's Perspective
by Tinian I'att
Summary: Why did I agree to serve Cronus? All he does is yell at me and my brothers and blame us for his mistakes. I think I made a huge mistake.
1. Prologue: Escape

**A/N: I decided sometime back that it would be interesting to write a story entirely from the perspective of Agnon, one of Cronus' giants and the only one who, seemingly, has a name. I wrote three chapters, then decided to go back and rewrite them because I felt the story would be better in first person. I have deleted the old version of this story and am now posting a new and I hope better version.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Class of the Titans.**

A Giant's Perspective  
Prologue  
Escape

Tartarus prison is a nice place to visit, but you wouldn't want to live there. Believe me I know. Spending the past four thousand years here has made me something of an expert. I made the poor choice to back Cronus in the Titan war and this is where it got me. Locked up for all time in this pit, and now that I think about it I take back that bit about it being a nice place to visit. You wouldn't want to visit here either.

The day of the escape started out like any other. I was pacing the floor of my cell restlessly, my feet tracing and retracing the same unvarying path. In my mind, I was replaying the same thoughts, thoughts of escape, of vengeance, vengeance against the thrice-accursed gods for sentencing me to spend eternity in this miserable place. I longed almost unbearably for freedom, longed for the springiness of grass beneath my feet instead of hard unyielding stone, to feel the wind and breathe fresh air instead of the stale lifeless air of Tartarus. Such longing I knew was pointless. I was never going to leave this place, thanks to the gods I was stuck here forever.

The day wore on. Time passes slowly in Tartarus, mostly because there's nothing to do here but daydream about escaping and getting revenge against whoever imprisoned you here to begin with…and yet…and yet…there was something strange in the air as time went by, a sense of expectation, as if the world were holding its breath waiting, for something to happen.

Then something did happen.

He came out of nowhere, completely unexpected…Cronus. One minute I'm pacing the floor of my cell for what has to be the one-billionth time and the next thing I know there he is staring in at me with those creepy red eyes of his.

"Hello Agnon," he greeted me. Just like that as if the past four thousand years never happened.

Two thoughts flashed through my mind at the sight of him. One, _How did he get out of his cell_? Two, _What does he want_? I never did learn the answer to the first question, but Cronus was quick to supply the answer to the second.

"How would like to be released from your imprisonment in this miserable hole?" Cronus asked.

A new thought, _sure, but what's the catch_? I knew he wasn't making this offer out of the kindness of his heart. I'm not exactly sure he even has a heart.

Sure enough, "All you have to do in exchange is swear undying loyalty to me," Cronus went on, "and I'll give you your freedom and a chance to get revenge on those who imprisoned you."

I pondered this for a moment. I wanted freedom and revenge very badly. The question was did I want them badly enough to agree to serve Cronus again. Especially considering what happened last time.

I did.

I knew if I turned down this chance, another one would never come along. I also knew that I'd feel like a complete fool if I spurned Cronus' offer and he actually succeeded in whatever scheme he had in mind.

I looked at Cronus for another moment and then, "I swear."

"Excellent," Cronus purred. The next moment the door was open and I was on my way to freedom.

Many months would pass before I realized the depth of the mistake I made that night.

**A/N: Well I hope you enjoyed this. Revisions to the next chapter are proceeding quickly and it should be up soon. I hope. Please review.**


	2. Chapter 1: Chaos

**A/N: Well, here it is the long overdue first chapter of "A Giant's Perspective". I can't believe it's been over a year since I last updated. I certainly didn't mean for it to take this long and I sure hope you find that this chapter is worth the wait. As you read you will of course notice the names for the giants that come up from time to time. I got these from a Wikipedia page on Giants (Greek Mythology). The identity of each giant should be fairly easy to figure out, but if you find you have problems keeping track of who's who you can go the my profile page for a giant directory. Enjoy!**

Chapter 1  
Chaos

The first thing I noticed when we emerged from the darkness of the Underworld was the stars.

I hadn't seen the stars in four thousand years and I'd forgotten how beautiful they are. Snow crunched beneath my feet and a cold wind blew, but it didn't matter. I could see the stars, the moon, the sky and I knew that I was free.

Free.

After four thousand years of imprisonment, I was finally free. I knew now that I would do anything to avoid returning to the darkness of Tartarus. I didn't care where I had to go or what I had to face I would never go back.

Never.

All around me, my brothers stretched and sighed relishing in their newfound freedom as I relished in mine. There were eleven of us, including me, and I hoped that would be enough to handle whatever challenges might lie ahead. I took a moment to note who had chosen to join Cronus on this mission to defeat the gods of Olympus. I saw Agrios, Alcyoneus, Clytius, Enceladus, Ephialtes, Eurytos, Gration, Mimas, Porphyrion, and Thoon all of whom, I knew, were more than capable of handling themselves in most situations. We all stood in silence for several moments then Cronus addressed us.

"The world has changed a great deal in the past four thousand years," he said. "We must do everything possible to avoid drawing attention to ourselves. The gods will no doubt be looking for us."

No one argued or asked Cronus how he knew the world had changed. He was the god of time, after all, and we all assumed he'd used his powers to gain such information.

"These clothes are no longer appropriate," Cronus declared looking down at himself.

He passed a hand down his body and his old garments were replaced by what I presumed was a more modern outfit.

"Now for the rest of you," he said gesturing at my brothers and me.

For a moment, I thought he was going to turn us into something less noticeable, like humans, but nothing happened. Cronus resumed talking obviously unaware that his magic had not worked.

"First," he declared, "I must find a secure location where I can safely plot the conquest of this wretched world and the downfall of my accursed children. Then I must locate the Oracle and learn what other obstacles may stand in the way of my inevitable triumph."

Until that moment I hadn't fully realized just how long it had been since I'd last had dealings with Cronus. I'd forgotten just how egocentric he could be. Now I remembered that when you dealt with him everything was always me, me, me. It was like my brothers and I didn't exist unless he needed us to do something. Actually, I was reasonably certain that this was exactly the case. In Cronus' mind unless something had a direct impact on what he was doing at the moment it might as well not exist because he certainly wouldn't be paying attention to it. I didn't have much time to dwell on these thoughts, however, as Cronus had us moving through yet another portal almost immediately. I wondered where this one would lead us.

I soon found out. I exited the portal and found myself in a place like nothing I had ever seen before. Tall buildings towered above us and as I tried to look everywhere at once, I realized I knew the purpose of these buildings. Some were office towers where humans would go to work others were apartment complexes where they lived and then there were hotels and restaurants and a thousand other things I never knew existed. Just looking at it, I knew this city must be home to hundreds or ever thousands of people. I tried to imagine the teeming throngs making their way through the city each day and simply couldn't. Nothing I'd experienced came close to preparing me for something on the scale of this city.

Suddenly, I understood what Cronus had done with his magic. He hadn't meant to turn my brothers and me into humans instead he had used it to grant us knowledge of this strange new world. He probably realized that that wouldn't keep us from looking around in amazement when confronted with something so vastly different from anything we'd seen before, but he was also smart enough to realize that we would spend far less time staring if we knew what we were looking at. Such knowledge would also help us stay out of trouble. If we understood the dangers certain things presented we were more likely to avoid them. It was, I had to admit, a stroke of genius, but then when it came to Cronus I shouldn't have expected anything less.

While my brothers and I looked around us in wonder, Cronus was impassively scanning the skyline looking for a place that would suit his purposes. It took several minutes, but he finally found something he liked.

"Perfect," he said with a small smile.

Seconds later, Cronus was shuffling us through yet another portal. This time we got out at the top of one of the city's many tall buildings. I didn't get it. Why had Cronus brought us here? He couldn't be planning to use this bare rooftop as a base. There was no cover. There was nothing. I moment later, however, I was shaking my head at my own foolishness. Of course, Cronus didn't attend for us to inhabit an empty roof. I should have known he had something else in mind. Moments after our arrival, Cronus intentions became clear as a luxurious apartment appeared around us. Rather than waste time hunting for an unoccupied building or apartment we could use Cronus had decided to use magic to build his own apartment at the top of one of the city's tallest buildings. Now that we had a place to hide and plot, we could concentrate on crushing the gods and other more important things.

"Now I must find the Oracle," Cronus announced, "and you will accompany me." He pointed to Alcyoneus, Porphyrion, Enceladus, and me.

_Why does he want us to accompany him_? I wondered. _What possible use can we be in finding the Oracle_?

I could understand why Cronus didn't want to bring all of us along for this task. The city might be quiet at this time of night, but it was a safe bet that eleven giants would attract a lot of unwelcome attention and we needed to keep a low profile if we wanted to avoid the gods. What I didn't understand was why he needed any of us to go with him. It wasn't like he needed protection or anything. It doesn't pay to argue with Cronus though, so my brothers and I prepared to head out in search of the Oracle.

Before we left Cronus issued instructions to the rest of my brothers.

"You will remain here," he informed them. "Do not leave for any reason and keep quiet. We cannot afford to attract attention at this critical juncture."

My brothers all nodded their agreement though I suspected most of them did not understand most of what Cronus had said. I know I certainly didn't, but when it comes to Cronus it's do as you're told or find yourself in hot water…sometimes literally! I sighed as Cronus opened a portal I had a feeling we were in for a long night of searching. The world seemed to have grown since I'd last walked on its surface and the Oracle could be anywhere.

* * *

We emerged from the portal at the entrance to an alley. A bus rumbled by at almost the same moment belching foul smelling fumes. A look of disgust briefly touched Cronus' features as he dusted himself off. Glancing around he spotted what he was looking for almost immediately.

"Ah, there he is," Cronus said with satisfaction, striding away.

_There who is_? I wondered. _We can't have found the Oracle already_.

I looked around expecting to behold someone impressive, but what I saw shocked me. The Oracle was a small balding man wearing sunglasses and eating sushi. I didn't know what I had expected an Oracle to look like, but this definitely wasn't it. However, the next words Cronus spoke swept away any doubts.

"You're looking well Oracle," he remarked.

The Oracle started slightly. The piece of sushi he was about to eat fell to the ground and rolled away coming to rest against Cronus' shoe.

_That's weird_, I thought. _Why would our arrival have startled him? He's an Oracle shouldn't he have seen us coming_?

I began to wonder if Cronus had made a mistake, but in the next moment, something happened that brushed my uncertainty aside.

"Come on now," the Oracle replied, "you're just being nice. I'm starting to look like a shaved cat, but time has served you well. Hasn't it Cronus?"

_Well_, I thought, _if he knows who Cronus is he must be the Oracle after all_. _I wonder if he was just pretending to be surprised_.

I knew it was possible the Oracle was just acting as though he hadn't expected our arrival, but I couldn't help wondering why. He didn't need to hide his ability to perceive the future from Cronus, but perhaps he was hiding something else or perhaps he hadn't expected us to show up quite so soon.

I shook my head to clear it of these pointless thoughts and returned my attention to Cronus and the Oracle anxious not to miss anything important.

"Yes," Cronus remarked casually, "time does serve me, as do you."

"I serve everyone," the Oracle answered. "Unfortunately that includes you."

Personally, I thought the Oracle should be grateful he had to serve Cronus. If he didn't Cronus would have destroyed him long ago. After all, he wasn't going to let the other gods have access to someone who could tell them about the future if he didn't. It seemed to me the Oracle was very lucky, even if he didn't know it.

Apparently, deciding not to comment on the Oracle's attitude, Cronus got down on one knee and removed the Oracle's sunglasses revealing the man's eerie glowing eyes.

"What do you see?" he asked.

"A power crazed megalomaniac bent on vengeance."

_Well_, I thought, _he certainly has Cronus pegged_. _The question is can he tell us what we came here to find out_?

"Am I really that obvious?" Cronus chuckled.

_To anyone that knows you_,_ yes_, I thought.

Rising to his feet Cronus added, "I know my plans are clear to you Oracle, but what, if anything stands in my way?"

The Oracle clapped his hands together and a crackling sphere of light appeared.

"Seven heroes…teenagers," he responded handing the sphere to Cronus. "They can stop you."

Cronus turned toward us holding the glowing ball in one hand and tossed the Oracle his glasses. Inside the sphere were the images of seven young humans. I caught a brief glimpse of five boys and two girls and none of them looked particularly threatening, except perhaps a boy with large muscles.

_This is who's supposed to stop us_? I thought. _They're just a bunch of kids_!

Cronus obviously shared my opinion.

"Mortals?" he questioned dubiously.

"Yup," responded the Oracle replacing his glasses. As he did, the sphere vanished.

"This can't be right!" Cronus exclaimed.

"I'm always right!" the Oracle fired back. "Over four thousand years without a mistake, not bad huh?"

_Well you've just made one_, I thought. _There's no way children are going to stop Cronus_!

Cronus, however, seemed slightly less certain.

"And what about the gods?" he queried a note of uncertainty in his voice.

"The gods will protect them from you," the Oracle replied.

"Protected from me are there?" Cronus sneered, his confidence evidently restored. Then he turned to my brothers and me. "Well, I doubt they'll be expecting you boys," he drawled. "Find them and destroy them!"

Roaring our agreement my brothers and I set out to do our master's bidding. This would be easy. Those poor humans would never know what hit them.

* * *

Hours later, I'd reached a completely different conclusion. I still believed the pathetic humans we'd been sent to dispose of would never know what hit them, but only because nothing ever would.

I'd searched all night, but hadn't found I single trace of any of them. Finally, it occurred to me that I was wasting my time. I was hunting through a city of tens of thousands of people on a planet populated by billions. I didn't even know if they were living in this city and by the time, I searched every building to confirm if they did; it would already be too late. The gods would have found them first and we'd all be doomed. I had only one choice. I'd have to return and get Cronus' help.

I wasn't looking forward to it. Cronus had given me strict instructions to find and destroy these so-called heroes and if I returned empty-handed he would not be pleased. I knew, however, that he would be a lot angrier if the heroes found us first, so I started back toward our apartment.

As I got closer, I ran into Alcyoneus, Porphyrion, and Enceladus.

"Did you have any luck?" I asked hoping one of them might have found at least one of the heroes.

"No," they answered. "Did you?"

"No," I said. "I've decided to ask Cronus to narrow down the search. For all we know they're not even in the city."

The others gave me a look that said more clearly than words "better you than us". I sighed. I'd half hoped that one of them might volunteer to ask Cronus instead. I should have known better. My brothers tended to look out for themselves.

"Well?" Cronus demanded when we entered the apartment a few moments later.

My brothers looked at me expectantly.

"We couldn't find them," I admitted.

"What?!" Cronus snapped.

"We searched all night," I said, "but the city's just too big and we don't even know if they're here."

"I don't have time for your excuses," Cronus growled.

I wanted to protest that it wasn't an excuse just reality, but I knew Cronus wouldn't listen so I kept my mouth shut.

"Obviously you are incapable of succeeding without my help," Cronus continued.

Turning away from us, he walked off in the direction of the balcony. My brothers and I trailed after him wondering what his plan was now. Stopping in front of the swimming pool, Cronus called one of his scythes to his hand. Kneeling down he used the weapon to stir the water slowly. After a moment an image appeared. It showed a boy, one of the heroes, heading out the door of his house. It was clear from his surroundings that he did not live in this city.

"See you later Mom," he called as he left.

"Be careful Jay," his mother called back.

Jay set off down a path leading to a river. A group of kids was waiting for him when he arrived.

"All right everyone put on your lifejackets and get into your boats," Jay instructed them.

As the kids raced to comply, Jay walked over to his own boat retrieving and donning a lifejacket as he went. A few moments later, he and his young charges were sailing off down the river.

"Agnon this will be your target," Cronus ordered. "Do not fail me."

He opened a portal and I was quick to step through it, anything to get away from the malevolent looks he kept casting in our direction. As though it was our fault, these so-called heroes didn't live within convenient walking distance.

* * *

When I emerged, I found myself on the bank of the river. From what I'd seen in Cronus' scrying pool, I knew that my quarry would be along shortly. I just had to come up with a plan to deal with him and then wait for him to arrive.

I thought for several moments about the best way to eliminate this bothersome human. At last, I decided that my best chance would be to ambush him while he was still on the water. I would drag the hapless hero to the bottom of the river and keep him there until he drowned. When they finally found his body, everyone would think it was just a tragic sailing accident. I wasn't worried about any of the children in the other boats spotting me. No one would believe stories about a giant. They would assume it was the results of the trauma of having their sailing instructor disappear before their eyes. It was the perfect plan.

I waited until I heard the sound of boats approaching in the distance before wading into the river. As I entered the frigid water, shuddering, my thoughts flashed briefly to the twins, Mimas and Thoon. Either one of them, I felt, would be a better choice for an assignment involving freezing water. Not because they enjoyed getting wet, all that fur took ages to dry, but because being half polar bear the cold didn't bother them as much as it did me. Not that it mattered, I was here, they weren't, and it was time to get to work.

I dove below the water's surface and swam slowly toward the boat carrying my target. The moment the vessel's shadow passed overhead I struck. Rising to the surface, I brought a fist crashing down on the puny human's flimsy craft. I saw a look of shock and confusion pass across his face in the moments before he dove overboard, losing his lifejacket in the process. I brushed the wreckage of his vessel aside and started after him. He swam as though his very life depended on it, which of course it did.

_Let him exhaust himself_, I thought drawing closer, _he can't escape_.

I had nearly caught up to him when a shadow passed overhead. I didn't spare it even a single glance all of my attention focused on Jay. Then I caught a flicker of movement out of the corner of my eye. It looked like something was swooping down out of the sky…and it was heading straight for Jay! Sensing that I was about to lose my quarry to someone or something else, I dove frantically for the boy, but got there a fraction of a second too late. Just as I was about to seize both this would be hero and victory, he was borne away in the talons of a griffin. Roaring in fury, I watched helplessly as my intended victim disappeared in the distance. I had no idea where they might be headed and I was certain Cronus would not be happy was this latest development. I hoped my brothers had fared better than I had.

* * *

They hadn't.

I found Cronus waiting for me as I stumbled numbly from the cold river. Without a word, he opened a portal and the two of us returned to the apartment. He left me there to contemplate the possible punishment for my failure while he went to retrieve my brothers. A few minutes later, he returned with a disgruntled looking Alcyoneus and shortly after that Enceladus and Porphyrion.

"You failed," he stated needlessly. "Fortunately, I have another strategy for eliminating those upstart heroes and their immortal protectors. Now get out of my sight!"

My brothers and I hurried off, anxious not to give Cronus any more reason to be angry than he already was.

"What happened to you?" I asked once we were alone.

They stared at me and I knew they didn't want to talk about it. I also knew I might need the information they'd gathered on the escaped heroes in case I encountered them in the future. I decided to tell them about my encounter, hoping it would encourage them to talk about theirs. Briefly, I described what had happened and how a griffin snatched Jay.

Alcyoneus' brow furrowed for a moment and then he said, "That sounds like what happened to me. Except the hero I went after was a girl."

"A girl?" I repeated.

Alcyoneus shot me a furious look clearly angry about failing to capture a single girl.

"Yes," he snapped, "a girl, a girl with inhuman speed."

I stared at him for a moment trying to understand what he meant.

"What do you mean inhuman speed?" I asked.

He looked at me as if I was the biggest idiot he'd ever seen.

"I found her hunting in a forest," he said slowly and clearly as though explaining something to a child. "When she saw me she started running and the next thing I knew she was moving so fast her legs were just a blur. I would never have caught her, but then she just stopped in a clearing and turned to confront me."

I rolled my eyes. "What a stupid thing to do," I said. "She must not be very bright."

Alcyoneus shrugged. "Maybe," he conceded. "She did try to fend me off with a stick. She even told me I could give up if I wanted that she wouldn't mind."

I snorted. "Maybe she wouldn't have minded," I said, "but Cronus sure would have."

Alcyoneus glared at me clearly annoyed by my constant interruptions.

"Anyway," he said, "one minute she's fighting me with a stick and I'm fighting her with a tree trunk and the next some yellow and purple blur whizzes passed and she's gone, flying away on a griffin."

There was something about what Alcyoneus had said that trigged a memory. I spent several moments trying to figure out what sounded so familiar about the description he'd given of the blur that had rescued this girl and then it hit me.

"Did you say a yellow and purple blur?" I asked dreading the answer.

"Why?" Alcyoneus demanded.

"The boy who got away from me was wearing a yellow and purple stripped shirt," I explained reluctantly.

"What?!" Alcyoneus exploded a look of rage on his face.

"I think my hero helped rescue yours," I explained lamely.

"You're saying that if you hadn't screwed up maybe I would have succeeded?" Alcyoneus snarled.

"Maybe," I offered somewhat defensively. "How should I know?"

"I don't believe this," Alcyoneus grumbled.

I could tell he wanted to hit me, he was clearly spoiling for a fight, but he also remembered Cronus' instructions to remain quiet and he knew as well as I did that if we attracted any attention it would only infuriate Cronus further. At least that's what I thought until he started toward me with a murderous look in his eyes.

"You idiot!" he bellowed enraged. "How could you be so stupid?"

I backed away unwilling to fight my furious brother and risk Cronus' wrath. Meanwhile, clearly wanting to head off the confrontation, Enceladus and Porphyrion tried to intervene.

"Get out of my way," Alcyoneus snarled at them.

For a moment, I thought for sure they would back down. Very few giants have the courage to stand up to an enraged brother. Fortunately, at that moment Cronus came looking for us.

"What are you fools doing?" he snapped observing Enceladus and Porphyrion trying to hold Alcyoneus back.

Nobody offered an explanation and apparently, Cronus wasn't expecting one.

"Get moving," he ordered. "I have another job for you."

I expected him to send us after the remaining heroes, but the job he had in mind proved to be infinitely more dangerous.

He wanted to free the Typhoeus.

I had never encountered that terrible beast myself, but every so often I heard the guards in Tartarus exchanging news of the world above and some had spoken of this dreadful monster. If even half of the things I'd heard were true, this was not something we should free.

I couldn't believe Cronus intended to release it! He did, however, and because we had sworn to serve him, my brothers, and I had to do what he ordered.

I had a bad feeling about this.

* * *

That feeling got worse a short time later. The moon hung suspended above the jagged peak towering over us. Alcyoneus, Enceladus, and I approached it cautiously dragging behind us the chains we had brought to secure the ancient horror imprisoned within the solid-looking stone. Porphyrion was guarding the ship we had commandeered for our return to the city. I had thought that Cronus would take the Typhoeus back to our apartment through a portal, but he was still concerned about attracting unwanted attention, so he had decided it would be easier to transport the Typhoeus on a ship instead. Personally, I didn't care how the beast was transported I thought it would be much safer and wiser to leave it imprisoned.

I knew, however, that once Cronus chose a course of action nothing would dissuade him, so I didn't waste time with pointless arguments. Instead, knees knocking, I waited to see what his next move would be.

"You'd better stand back," he told us and then used one of his scythes to blast away part of the rock face before us.

A pair of huge, glowing eyes stared back at us from the shadowy interior of the Typhoeus' long concealed cell.

"How would you like to make a deal?" Cronus asked it.

The Typhoeus focused its attention on the god of time, as though willing to listen to what he had to say.

"If you agree to serve me," Cronus told it. "I will free you from your prison and give you the opportunity to play a critical role in destroying those who put you here."

Slowly the monster nodded.

"Excellent," Cronus purred.

He used his scythe to blast away the door to the Typhoeus' cell and the monster stepped out into the night.

It was enormous, an immense creature with the head of a lion, the body of a giant and serpents for legs! It was even more terrifying than I'd imagined. It loomed over my brothers and me, starting down at us balefully. Eyeing the chains, we carried with clear anger. All at once, its head reared back and it roared releasing a great plume of fire into the starry sky.

"Don't forget we have a deal," Cronus reminded it. "If you do as I say you will have everything you desire."

My brothers and I warily approached the behemoth and secured it with the chains we'd brought. When we were done, Cronus nodded in satisfaction and we set off for the ship.

Before long, we were on our way back to the city with the fiend safely secured in the hold. It wasn't happy to be there, but Cronus had insisted on keeping it out of sight. My brothers and I devoutly hoped it would stay there because, although we knew it wouldn't dare try to attack Cronus we harbored no such illusions about ourselves. We were all smart enough to know that if the opportunity presented itself the Typhoeus was likely to eat us and we all kept a wary distance from it.

While we traveled, I got Enceladus and Porphyrion to tell me what had happened to them when they faced off against their heroes and got quite a surprise.

"Cronus had us go after the same hero," Enceladus told me.

"Why?" I asked.

Porphyrion shrugged. He'd never said much and obviously his time in Tartarus had not changed centuries of habit.

"I think it was because he had all these muscles," Enceladus clarified.

"Even with lots of muscles I doubt he was strong enough to warrant the attention of two giants," I said.

"I thought so too," Enceladus replied. "Until we grabbed him and he managed to smash us together and throw us to the ground."

"Are you joking?" I asked dubiously.

It seemed very unlikely to me that any hero could possibly be strong enough to take down two giants single-handed, but Enceladus was adamant.

"I was there," he said. "I think I know what happened better than you."

"I believe you," I hastened to assure him, not wanting to start a fight on a boat with a bloodthirsty monster not far away.

Satisfied he let the matter drop and we continued in silence.

As the boat drifted closer to our destination, I couldn't help wondering about the things Alcyoneus and Enceladus had told me about the heroes they'd encountered. Alcyoneus had claimed that his female hero possessed unusual speed and Enceladus claimed that his had possessed superhuman strength and yet Jay hadn't possessed any unusual abilities that I'd noticed. I wondered if any of the other heroes had unique talents and if so what those might be. I had a feeling I'd find out soon enough.

* * *

Sometime later, we arrived at our destination and I caught sight of a sign. It read Port of New Olympia.

_Oh, so that's where we are_, I thought, _the city of New Olympia_.

Somehow, the city's name wasn't that surprising what better name than New Olympia for a city no doubt inhabited by the gods of Olympus. I was finally beginning to understand why Cronus had chosen this place as the location for our base of operations. If the gods were concealed somewhere within this city it would save us time when we were finally ready to destroy them.

I stood at the front of the ship as we drifted into port. The only sounds at this late hour were the gentle lapping of the waves and the cry of the gulls.

"What a beautiful night," Cronus commented coming to stand beside me. "There's so much fear and confusion in the air. It smells like chaos."

A gout of flame rose from the hold where the Typhoeus was imprisoned.

Cronus smiled, "I love it."

By the time, we got the ship docked and tied up it was almost daybreak.

"Let's wait until nightfall," Cronus told me, "then we'll release him. We don't want to attract attention…not yet."

Inside its ersatz, prison the Typhoeus shifted restlessly.

"Be patient my demon friend," Cronus told it.

I felt almost sorry for it, after all no one would enjoy liberation from one cell followed by near immediate imprisonment in another.

Then one of the snakeheads that served the Typhoeus for feet broke through the grating covering the hold. It paused to regard Cronus for a moment.

"Remember our deal," the god added.

Bypassing Cronus the head turned its attention to me. I flinched certain I was about to become the monster's meal. After its long imprisonment, I was sure it must be hungry. However, it apparently decided I wasn't worth devouring. It suddenly swung passed me to fix its stare on Enceladus. This was too much for him and he broke and ran. I hurried after him. He was my youngest brother and I didn't want him running off into the city alone. It wasn't that I didn't think he could handle himself. It was just that hosts of previously unknown dangers that he could run into at any time filled this city. I only got as far as the railing, however, before Cronus brought me up short.

"Coward," he scoffed. "Let him go. The meek don't inherit the earth."

I wanted to go after Enceladus, but I knew it was both futile and potentially dangerous to argue with Cronus, so I stayed put and kept quiet.

Still, I was relieved when Enceladus returned a short time later, but that relief turned to anger when I saw an ugly burn on his left arm. Whoever had harmed my brother would pay for it.

Cronus was, predictably, completely unconcerned.

"Back so soon are we?" he asked dismissively.

Enceladus' reply was startling.

"One of the heroes followed me," he said. "Jay."

"What! He's here?" Cronus gasped.

Cronus and I looked around and I could tell when he spotted the boy by the way he clenched his teeth and narrowed his eyes.

Jay was peering around the corner of a nearby building. The moment he realized we'd seen him he pulled his head out of sight and ran off.

_Some hero_, I thought.

Cronus suspected that the boy might return bringing the others with him so he had us hide ourselves on deck. Then we waited.

* * *

Not surprisingly, Cronus was right. Around sunset, the three heroes boarded the ship. They wandered around for a few moments examining things.

"Looks like something already busted out of here," I heard the girl say. "We might be too late guys."

It took me a few seconds to realize she was referring to the hole the Typhoeus' foot had made. I suppressed the urge to laugh. If she thought for one moment that the Typhoeus had escaped through that little hole, she had no idea what she was dealing with.

Then the Typhoeus began to move around in its cell and the girl realized her mistake.

"Or not," she said.

At that same moment, Cronus stepped out of the shadows to address them.

"Ah, I see you've met my friend," he said. "But we haven't formally met have we, Jay. I wasn't sure you'd come back since you ran off so quickly earlier, but, uh, I'm glad you did. You see I heard something about how you and your friends here were going to try and stop me and, well, I wanted to talk to you about that."

"I don't feel like talking, not to you," was Jay's reply.

I waited with baited breath for Cronus to give the order to attack. Jay had eluded me and I was sure he was also responsible for injuring Enceladus. I was determined to make him pay for both.

"Where are the others?" Cronus asked ignoring Jay's outburst. "I thought there were supposed to be seven heroes."

"It's three against one," the other boy retorted. "I think we're good."

"Yeah I'm good with that," their female companion chimed in.

"Oh I'm sure you're good," Cronus chuckled, "but I'm better."

My brothers and I took that as our cue to emerge from hiding. Alcyoneus made a beeline for the girl. I had no doubt he was planning to get revenge for his earlier defeat. Unfortunately, for him, she'd picked up a piece of metal that someone had left lying on the deck and proceeded to use it to devastating effect.

While Alcyoneus tried to get revenge on the girl, Enceladus and I went after the muscle bound boy and Porphyrion attacked Jay. After some initial problems, specifically the boy picking us up and throwing us around, Enceladus and I managed to send our target sliding across the deck. It looked like we might actually pull this off. Then I heard Porphyrion cry out in alarm and saw him fall through the hole the Typhoeus' foot made earlier. He managed to catch himself, but the Typhoeus got him anyway.

"Poor fellow, oh well," was Cronus' only comment.

Rage burned through me. Rage at Cronus' callous remark, rage at myself for not killing Jay when I had the chance and, of course, rage at Jay for sending my brother to his death. While Alcyoneus continued his quest for revenge, Enceladus and I embarked upon our own.

"Guys I could use some help here," the girl called.

"Herry the lock, open up the hatch. Let that thing out of there!" Jay ordered.

Enceladus and I cornered Jay and Herry intent both on avenging our dead brother and preventing them from releasing the Typhoeus.

"You think they'll get out of the way if I ask 'em nicely?" Herry inquired.

_Not a chance_, I thought.

Herry had apparently reached the same conclusion. Instead of waiting for us to politely step aside he grabbed one of the chains we had used to secure the Typhoeus earlier and used it to bind Enceladus and me. Then, as if that weren't enough, he pushed us overboard!

We hit the icy water like a ton of bricks. I struggled frantically to keep us afloat, but it was no use, within seconds we were sinking into the black depths. I thrashed around in a desperate attempt to free us from the chains, but we only sank deeper and deeper into the darkness. The harder I fought the deeper we seemed to sink. I was certain we were doomed. I gave a last despairing heave and finally slipped free! I looked around for Enceladus and saw him drifting away. I knew he was unconscious so I grabbed the end of the chain and towed him to the surface.

I swam as fast as I could, dragging my brother behind me. Never had I felt as relieved as the moment I broke the surface and returned to the world of air and light. Then I realized there was too much light. I turned and saw that the heroes had freed the Typhoeus and that the monster had set the ship on fire. I saw Alcyoneus staggering out the water a few feet away. I wondered if someone had thrown him overboard as well or if he had jumped to escape the fire that was consuming the ship. I decided that now was not the time to be worried about such trivial concerns. All that mattered was that he wasn't on the ship when the Typhoeus started breathing fire everywhere.

I turned back to check on Enceladus. I had expected him to revive once we got back to the surface, but he lay unmoving a few feet away. It took me a moment to understand what had happened.

Enceladus was dead.

He had drowned before we could loosen the chain that bound us. My rage against Jay consumed me and now I felt an additional rage against Herry for his part in the death of my youngest brother. I vowed they would both suffer untold agony for what they had done.

Concerned that my brother could become another snack for the Typhoeus, I heaved his lifeless body onto the flaming remains of the ship and stood back to watch as the fire consumed him.

Moments later Cronus strolled away from the burned out hulk a look of barely controlled fury on his face. I knew his fury was not for the two brothers I had lost, but rather because the heroes had thrown a wrench into his plans. He was counting on stealth and now we would have to act quickly if we were to avoid any undue attention. The last thing we needed right now was a bunch of humans showing up to ask questions we had no answers for. We left the area as fast as possible. The Typhoeus, still bound by its promise to Cronus, came with us.

Later we received more bad news. Cronus had dispatched other creatures to deal with three of the remaining four heroes and they had failed. Now instead of dealing with only three heroes we would be dealing with six. With only one hero left Cronus decided not to take any chances. So while Alcyoneus, Thoon and Mimas accompanied him on the next phase of his plan, whatever that was, Cronus sent me to find the final hero.

I knew I must not fail. We had to destroy the heroes. They had to pay for what had happened to Enceladus and Porphyrion. I would make sure they did and soon.

**A/N: Well, I hope you all enjoyed this first chapter and are even now eagerly anticipating the next. I will make every effort to ensure that you're not kept waiting for nearly as long as you waited for this chapter. For those of you who are no doubt wondering about Enceladus, he's the blue giant with the fang necklace. There is no direct evidence that he dies in the first CoTT episode, but since he doesn't appear in any of the others I decided to write his death into this chapter. Please review and tell me what you liked and didn't like about this chapter as that will help me make improvements to the next one. For example, did you enjoy the conversations between Agnon and his brothers and would you like to read more of them in the future? If so please tell me. I'm really anxious to read your thoughts and opinions, so please review.**


	3. Chapter 2: The Seventh Hero

**A/N: Here's chapter two and as promised I didn't keep you waiting nearly as long as I did for chapter one. Enjoy!**

Chapter 2  
The Seventh Hero

I spent all the next day and night scouring the city for some sign of the seventh hero, but I couldn't find a trace of him anywhere. Partway through the night, I noticed a strange ribbon of light appear in the sky. I wondered if it had anything to do with Cronus' plan. I hoped so. Perhaps if he had succeeded with his plan he would be less angry with me for failing.

He was standing on the balcony looking down at the city when I arrived. I approached him tentatively uncertain how he'd react.

"Ah, finally I've been waiting all night," Cronus sighed as he turned to face me. His expression changed abruptly to one of displeasure when he realized I was alone, "and it appears I'm still waiting," he hissed from between clenched teeth. "You haven't found him!"

I thought about trying once again to explain the futility of searching for a single person in a city the size of this one, but decided against it. Cronus wasn't listening anyway.

"The Oracle said seven heroes would unite to stop me," he snarled. "I must find the last one before the prophecy is realized!"

I cringed at the anger in Cronus' voice and raised my hands defensively. I began to think that perhaps the strange light in the sky, visible even now, was not Cronus' doing. Maybe his plan had gone awry after all.

"Get your brothers," Cronus ordered. "I'll be joining the hunt this time."

I could tell by his tone that Cronus was through playing games. He meant to get his hands on the final hero no matter what. I collected Alcyoneus and Mimas, reasoning that three giants and a god should be more than a match for whatever abilities this last hero might possess, and we headed out. There would be no mistakes this time. We would find this seventh so-called hero and destroy him!

* * *

Hours later, we finally managed to track him down, and he was nothing like I'd expected. He was at a train yard with two men who were taking his picture. I stared. This had to be some kind of mistake. I was anticipating someone powerful and heroic not this…this fool.

"That's it baby, yeah. Yeah Neil the camera loves ya, baby, yeah," said one man as Neil posed in various positions.

"Tell me something I don't know," Neil responded in a bored tone as if he heard this sort of thing often.

_This has to be some kind of mistake_, I thought. _There's no way this vain_,_ strutting_,_ puffed-up_,_ prancing_,_ preening_,_ self-absorbed peacock could possibly be a hero_._ This is either a mistake or the gods have gone insane_. _Why else would they think this idiot was a hero_?

While Neil continued posing oblivious to our presence, my brothers and I pummeled the two men, bound, and gagged them.

"Neil at last we meet," Cronus said.

Neil glanced in Cronus' direction, but didn't seem surprised to see us.

"Big fan huh, I suppose you want an autographed picture?" he asked pulling a photo out of his pocket and signing it.

I blinked in confusion. We had just subdued his entourage and yet this boy didn't seem the least bit concerned. Even Cronus seemed slightly taken aback by this display of nonchalance.

"Very kind of you dear boy," he answered, "but I have much bigger plans for you."

"Plans, are you some kind of agent, big time mover and shaker?" Neil asked.

"Oh yes, mover and shaker, big time," Cronus answered putting an arm around Neil and pulling him close.

_What are they talking about_, I wondered, _and how can anyone be that self-absorbed_?

The boy honestly didn't seem to be aware of his predicament. He seemed to think Cronus was interested in becoming his new modeling agent and was obviously not paying my brothers and me the least bit of attention. I could understand his lack of concern regarding Cronus, since he did after all look human, but I didn't understand his lack of concern regarding my brothers and me.

_We're giants_! I wanted to scream. _How can that not bother you_?

There was either more to this boy than met the eye or…

"Cronus!" Jay shouted unexpectedly.

…or this is a trap! I suddenly realized that my first instinct must be right. Obviously, this boy was no hero. He was bait in a trap the other heroes had constructed to catch Cronus. It made perfect sense…for about five seconds.

"And there's Neil," said a girl I'd never seen before.

_So much for the trap theory_, I thought. _I guess this clown really is a hero_. _I wonder if they know what a complete and utter dolt he is_.

"I thought this was a closed set," Neil complained. "Well I've got to make time for fans that are that dedicated." He opened a three-paneled mirror and started admiring himself.

Once again, I was blindsided by Neil's utter lack of sense. He clearly had no idea what was really going on. Cronus seemed just as confused by the boy's cluelessness.

"Oh let my bodyguards take care of them," he said. "We have more important things to do."

Cronus dragged the oblivious twit off, leaving Alcyoneus, Mimas and I to take care of the others…permanently.

Jay tried to follow Cronus and Neil, but I put my foot down…literally. If Jay wanted to rescue this poor excuse of a seventh, hero he would have to go through me. I roared in rage and as a challenge.

_Come on_, I thought, _fight me_. _I dare you_.

He leapt into the air and much to my surprise, produced a weapon, a xiphos. Not that it did him any good. In one swift move, I grabbed his arm and flung him away. He landed on the train tracks, hard, and didn't get up. Alcyoneus and Mimas had the other heroes occupied so I decided to take advantage of this opportunity to get revenge for Porphyrion and Enceladus.

A flat car was sitting a few feet from Jay. I gave it a shove that sent it hurtling down the tracks toward him.

"Jay look out!" called the girl who supposedly possessed super-speed.

Jay was sitting up now, but he was clearly dazed and he obviously didn't hear her warning. Then, just at the flat car was about to hit him something unexpected happened.

I had never totally believed Alcyoneus' claim that the hero he'd confronted could run at faster than normal speed, but now I knew he hadn't been exaggerating. Before my astonished eyes the girl's feet became a blur of motion and the next thing, I knew she had yanked Jay clear of the tracks and his well-deserved fate. I would make her pay dearly for meddling.

I stormed toward Jay and the girl determined to extract swift and bloody retribution. Retribution made all the more terrible because the heroes had foiled me once too often.

Then the other female hero came up behind me. I turned to regard her for a moment. She produced a pair of nunchucks and started twirling them around.

"Huh?" I grunted.

I decided to ignore her and returned my attention to Jay and the other girl. By now, even she had produced a weapon, a pair of bolas. I glanced back and forth between the two of them for a moment trying to choose whom to attack first.

I picked Jay.

Snarling I struck out with one hand hoping to send him flying as easily as I had before, but he struck back with his xiphos. Pain shot through my hand as the blade connected. I cradled it carefully yelling in frustration. Then the new girl added insult to injury by kicking me in the head.

I responded by slamming both my fists into her sending her sprawling in a heap a few feet away. The next thing I knew, the other girl had managed to tie my ankles together with her bolas. I struggled to keep my balance and managed to hop a couple of steps before falling onto a car full of coal. Coal spilled out leaving me almost completely buried in black rocks.

Dazed I managed to free my head just in time to see Alcyoneus and Mimas stumbling toward me. A moment later, they collapsed in a heap on top of me. Suddenly I heard the sound of something big and loud heading right for us. I turned my head and saw a train…coming toward us at terrific speed! Naturally, there was no time to get out of the way before it collided with us.

We regained our senses sometime later, but by the time we extricated ourselves from the remains of the train the heroes were long gone. We headed back to our lair dreading what we might find upon our arrival.

* * *

As we walked, I convinced Alcyoneus and Mimas to tell me what had happened while I was out searching for Neil. Their information did not prove to be particularly enlightening.

"Cronus had us divert power from a power plant to some big laser gun," Mimas began. "Then we waited until it got dark and he fired it at something in the sky and that weird light appeared."

_So that light does have something to do with Cronus' plan_, I thought. _I wonder what_.

"Don't forget about the heroes showing up and taking out the Typhoeus," Alcyoneus added.

"They did what?" I gasped.

"They…defeated…the…Typhoeus," Alcyoneus repeated, carefully enunciating each word.

"All six of them?" I asked.

"No, just two of them," Alcyoneus said.

I stared at him for a moment in disbelief. Did he really expect me to believe such an outrageous claim? Then I remembered what he'd said about that girl and it suddenly didn't seem so crazy. Given what I'd seen of the heroes' abilities so far I was starting to believe that anything was possible.

I turned to Alcyoneus and smiled.

"Good riddance," I said. "The world is better off without that monster and so are we."

My brothers exchanged glances and then nodded their agreement.

"Did Cronus say what those rings in the sky are supposed to do?" I asked curiously.

"No," Alcyoneus answered tersely.

"He did tell Jay that he was the least of his worries now," Mimas offered, "whatever that means."

_Whatever that means_, _indeed_, I thought.

When neither of them volunteered any additional information, I assumed that was it. It came as something of a shock, therefore, when Mimas abruptly stopped a few minutes later.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"I just remembered something else Cronus said last night," Mimas answered sounding a little shaky.

"What did he say?" I demanded worried by how pale Mimas suddenly looked.

"He said, 'Sleep well mortals. Tomorrow will bring the dawn of a new era and those that live through it will serve me'," Mimas answered.

"That doesn't sound so bad," I said. "I mean since we already serve Cronus we're bound to live through whatever he's got planned."

Mimas shook his head. "You don't understand," he said. "Right after that Cronus said, 'Who am I kidding no one's going to through it, no one'. Then he started laughing like a maniac."

It took a moment for Mimas' words to sink in, but when they did, I felt my heart stop.

"Are you sure that's what he said?" I asked hoping that maybe Mimas had misunderstood.

Mimas nodded miserably.

"I can't believe it," I said confused. "I thought Cronus wanted to conquer the world not destroy it!"

"It's not really that unbelievable," Alcyoneus pointed out.

"Are you serious?" I demanded staring at him as though he'd lost his mind.

"Think about it," he said. "Cronus was cooped up in Tartarus for four thousand years. In all that time, he's done nothing but plot revenge on those who put him there. Obviously, all that time locked up has driven him mad and now he's taking extreme action to ensure he destroys them once and for all."

"He'll destroy himself too," I said.

"Maybe he doesn't care," Alcyoneus answered. "Maybe his desire for vengeance has driven all other considerations from his mind."

I thought about that for a moment. Cronus was never exactly stable to begin with and it was entirely possible that his long imprisonment had driven away what little sanity he'd possessed. If that was the case, and it certainly seemed to be, then it was entirely likely he wasn't thinking clearly about the consequences of his actions.

"It doesn't matter anyway," Mimas piped up.

I turned to him for an explanation.

"If what Cronus did is going to destroy the world we can't do anything to stop it," Mimas clarified.

I nodded because, unfortunately, he was right. We continued in silence each of us lost in our own thoughts.

* * *

As we got closer to the apartment evidence of Cronus' intentions became harder and harder to deny. The streets were jammed with vehicles of every description and everywhere we looked people were running, screaming and generally behaving as through the end of the world was eminent. Gradually, I began to except the inevitable. We were all going to die. I didn't know how exactly, but I knew it would be soon.

Not surprisingly by the time we arrived, the heroes had rescued Neil and disappeared. Cronus, however, appeared to be taking the whole thing in stride. Apparently, his confidence in his other plan was so great that he believed not even Jay and his cohorts could stop it, which, if we were right about what he had in mind, they couldn't. While Alcyoneus, Mimas and I waited for Cronus to acknowledge us Thoon and Clytius joined us. They were both anxious to know what was going on, but I wasn't in the mood to explain and in a short time, it wouldn't matter anyway.

Cronus was standing on the balcony commenting on the scene unfolding below.

"Ah panic in the streets," he sighed, "how refreshing." He paused for a moment then added, "And yet something's not right."

_Well_, I thought, _you are about to destroy the world and yourself along with it_.

I knew it was probably too much to hope that Cronus was coming to a realization of what he was about to do and I was right. He stirred the water of the pool in front of him with one of his scythes and an image of the heroes appeared.

_Of course_, I thought, _those kids are up to something_. _That's what has Cronus on edge_.

"I wonder where they're going," Cronus mused, "to enjoy one last sunrise? They must know there's nothing they can do and no time left to do it."

That statement immediately swept any doubts I had about Cronus' intentions away. He really did intend to destroy the world.

Cronus considered things for a moment before choosing a course of action.

"On the other hand why take any chances?" he decided.

Turning to us he asked, "Which one of you wants to make amends for your ignominious defeat at the roundhouse?" Then without waiting for a response he grabbed Clytius by the arm and said, "How about you?"

Alcyoneus, Mimas, Thoon, and I watched in horrified silence as Cronus transformed Clytius into some kind of monster. Then Cronus climbed on his back and they were gone.

"That wasn't fair," I protested after they left. "Clytius wasn't even at the roundhouse. He just came out here to find out what was happening."

"What difference does it make now?" Mimas asked. "If the world's about to end it doesn't really matter anyway, so why worry."

"Besides," Alcyoneus put in, "would _you_ have wanted to be turned into that thing?"

"Of course not," I snapped, "but that doesn't make it right!"

"As long as you're not the one on the receiving end of Cronus' wrath who cares," Alcyoneus answered.

I just stared unable to believe how callous he was being. I knew my brothers primary concern was for their own welfare, but it still struck me as wrong to punish one for the mistakes of another. Not that I would have dared to argue with Cronus I'm not that foolish. I decided to let the matter drop. Mimas was right. With the world about to end, it didn't matter anyway.

* * *

I stood on the balcony for a long time watching the rings in the sky. I wondered how something so beautiful could possibly destroy the earth. My brothers had gone inside sometime before. They had no interest in watching and waiting for the end of the world. They preferred to spend their last moments sleeping, eating, and trying to pretend things were normal.

Suddenly the earth began to shudder, black clouds filled the sky, lightning flashed, and I could see tornados forming in the distance.

_This is it_, I thought.

Then the rings disappeared just like that with no explanation. The clouds dispersed and the sun came out again. It was over. I knew the heroes must be responsible, but I couldn't figure out how they'd managed it. Even though I knew, Cronus would be furious I couldn't help cheering silently. The world wouldn't end after all…at least not today. When a rainbow arched across the sky, I smiled. Then it started to rain, so I turned and headed inside.

When Cronus and Clytius returned, Clytius had returned to normal and they were both soaking wet. The look on Cronus' face made it clear that no one had better ask him what had happened. As for Clytius, he looked so stunned and confused I decided it would be better to leave him alone for the moment.

"Pack up," Cronus snapped, "we're leaving."

"Why?" I asked without thinking.

"They know where to find us, you dolt," Cronus growled a murderous look on his face.

"Where will we go?" I asked.

Cronus glared at me. "Underground," he snapped, "now get moving!"

Hours later, I was staring around a cavern system that was uncomfortably reminiscent of Tartarus. I hadn't realized that Cronus meant underground literally and I didn't like it.

"Ah, home sweet home," Cronus sighed with satisfaction.

I sighed too.

_Home_, I thought, _maybe_, _but sweet_…_definitely not_.

And with the heroes out there and Cronus in here, things could only get worse.

**A/N: Well, there you have it. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and will show your appreciation in the form of a review. Thanks.**


	4. Chapter 3: Trojan Horse

**A/N: Here at last is Chapter 3. I have no idea why it took me nearly a year to update this story, especially since I have a rough draft already written, but it might have had something to do with a lack of reviews. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter.**

Chapter 3  
Trojan Horse

I was having the most incredibly perfect dream. We had finally defeated those irritating heroes and conquered the world. As a reward for my devoted service, Cronus had given me my own country to rule as I saw fit. I was sitting on a magnificent throne surround by dozens of human servants, all of whom were hurrying to carry out my every command. It was paradise, it was heaven, it was…

"Get up you lazy imbecile," a voice barked.

I groaned and opened my eyes a crack. It was dark and for a moment, I was tempted to tell whomever it was to go away and let me get back to my dream of glittering palaces, fantastic banquets and soft beds. Then, I realized who was speaking to me.

I sat bolt upright, my whole body rigid with shock as I realized what I had almost done and what the likely consequences would have been. Cronus was standing over me with a glare on his face. I figured that he'd been trying to wake me for some time.

_Well_, I thought, _my brothers always told me I sleep like a stone_. _I guess they were right_.

I sighed inwardly as the last pieces of my dream drifted away. I was once again in the real world where I had no power, no palace and, worst of all, no soft bed. I would have given almost anything for a soft bed. I hated sleeping on the cold stone floor of the enormous cavern that served my brothers and me for living quarters in our underground lair. I worked the kinks out of my back while I listened to Cronus issue orders.

"Wake your brothers," he commanded. "I have a job for you."

He strode away while I turned to the difficult task of rousing a few of my brothers. I wasn't the only one who slept like a rock. As I roused them, I wondered what Cronus had in mind now. Knowing him, it would be something dangerous and next to impossible. He seemed to relish handing us tasks that we would almost certainly fail to accomplish. I had a feeling he turned such jobs over to us because he didn't want to fail at them himself and therefore appear weak and fallible. I knew such thoughts, had I voiced them to my brothers, might have sounded ridiculous, but that didn't mean I was wrong.

I managed to get Alcyoneus, Ephialtes, Mimas, and Thoon to their feet before Cronus returned demanding to know what was taking so long. Deciding that the five of us would probably be able to handle things I chivvied my brothers along and we headed off.

* * *

Cronus opened a portal and when we emerged from it, we found ourselves standing on a cliff surrounded by griffins. Cronus had had us bring ropes along and now we knew why.

He expected us to catch griffins.

Most of the griffins flew off as soon as we arrived, but we did manage to lasso one. We strained on the ropes trying to keep it from flying off.

"Steady him," Cronus barked, "or we'll never drag him out of this blasted place!"

_Then why don't you help us instead of standing there_? I thought. Only a desire to keep breathing kept my mouth shut.

We continued to struggle for a few more minutes, but inevitably, the griffin broke free. I made a futile effort to grab one of the ropes trailing from the beast. Unfortunately, it crashed into me and took off.

Cronus was livid.

"With an army of griffins under my control I could lay waste to the human realm in minutes and you fools can't even corral one!" he shouted.

It was probably just as well that the griffin knocking me around had left me feeling dazed. Otherwise, I would have shouted back.

_If you're so perfect then why don't you help us_! _Why is it that you're always willing to berate us for things we have no control over_, _but so unwilling to contribute_? _You're a god for Tartarus' sake_ _surely corralling a griffin would pose no problem for you_!

Wisely, however, I once again kept quiet.

Cronus leaned over me fury etched into every line of his face.

"There is but one instrument powerful enough to control the griffin," he snarled through clenched teeth, "and you will get it for me!"

I couldn't believe my ears! If there was something that could control griffins then why in blazes hadn't we retrieved it first! This was simply ridiculous. If Cronus kept running things this way, we'd be back in Tartarus in no time! I thought nothing else Cronus could say would surprise me after that belated revelation.

I was wrong.

It turned out that the biggest surprise was not the fact that an item to control griffins existed, but who the aforementioned item belonged to.

Hermes, Messenger of the Olympian gods.

Cronus expected me to track down a god and steal a powerful ancient relic from him. If corralling griffins was next to impossible then this was completely impossible. There was no way, even with my brothers help, that Cronus could reasonably expect me to accomplish this task…but then Cronus isn't reasonable.

Cronus opened a portal, which dumped us back at our hideout then walked away leaving us to figure out our next move on our own.

Alcyoneus, Ephialtes, Mimas, Thoon, and I debated briefly before deciding on a plan of action. In the end, we determined that our only option was to capture one of the heroes and hold him or her for ransom in exchange for Hermes' Herald's Staff. Now all we had to do was find the heroes.

Shortly after our arrival in the underground caverns we called home, Cronus had discovered a large pool of water in one of the lower caves. He had turned this into a scrying pool, which allowed him to spy on the heroes. Rather than spend hours hunting everywhere, my brothers and I decided to use this pool to locate them. We hoped we'd be able to find them that way, but we couldn't be sure. There were times when the pool remained inexplicably blank, when we could find no trace of the heroes.

This time we were fortunate. The scrying pool showed the heroes entering a forest a few miles outside the city. If we hurried, we could catch them. I briefly considered asking Cronus to open a portal for us, but decided against it. Instead we would use this opportunity to prove we could do something ourselves.

* * *

We set out and caught up to the heroes a couple of hours later. They were hiking and judging by the gear they had brought with them it seemed they intended to spend the night somewhere in the forest. After a brief, quiet debate, we decided to follow them at a discreet distance and wait for the right opportunity to present itself.

Keeping to the cover of the trees, we trailed along behind them, careful never to let them get too far ahead. After all, we didn't want to lose them.

We had only gone a short distance when I heard something growling up ahead. I decided to investigate. I told my brothers to stay where they were, concerned that the five of us might attract the heroes' attention, then I moved closer. Making sure to stay out of sight, I peered through the trees and saw the heroes confronting a bear. Jay, who was at the head of the group grabbed a stick and attempted to hold the massive creature at bay.

"Doesn't anyone know how to fend off a grizzly bear?" he asked, ducking as the bear swiped at him with a massive paw.

Archie pulled out his whip and was about it use it when Atlanta stopped him.

"No Archie you'll hurt it," she protested.

Everyone, except Odie, grabbed fallen branches and tried to hold the bear off. They weren't having much luck.

_There they are_, I thought, _the seven heroes who have handed us defeat after defeat losing to a bear, how unbelievably pathetic._

"Hang on guys," Odie called pulling out his computer. "Everything you want to know about bears coming right up."

While he was looking for a solution to their problem, the other heroes were trying to keep their distance from the animal's sharp claws and teeth.

"Hang on guys help is on the way," Odie told them still searching for a way out of their predicament.

Then Theresa got too close and the bear grabbed her stick in its mouth. Lifting her into the air, it flung her into some nearby bushes.

"I've got it," Odie said at last. "A teddy bear is a lovable…"

"Teddy bear?" Herry and Theresa cried in unison.

Just then, the bear knocked Herry to the ground. It was about to finish him off when something completely unexpected happened.

Hermes arrived and in his hands was…the Herald's Staff!

Whistling jauntily Hermes soon had things sorted out. One minute the bear was about to rip Herry to shreds and the next it was sitting quietly on the ground washing one of its paws. Then it started licking Herry.

"That's it off you go," Hermes told it. "Go find a picnic basket or park ranger."

A few moments later, the bear had disappeared into the woods.

"Ah what a glorious day for a stroll," Hermes commented. "Mind if I join you?"

Without waiting for a response, he set off ahead of them whistling merrily.

Herry and Atlanta laughed and Jay sighed in relief as they hurried to join him, grabbing their temporarily discarded backpacks as they went.

"Teddy bear, smooth move Odie," the small boy muttered as he shoved his computer back into its bag.

Then he realized his friends were leaving him behind.

"Hey guys wait for me," he called hurrying to catch up.

As I watched him go, I briefly debated making a grab for him immediately, but decided against it. The other heroes were still too close and would likely have come running as soon as they knew their friend was in danger. Not to mention the trouble Hermes could have caused with his Herald's Staff. It would be better to wait and see if a more opportune moment presented itself.

I went back, collected my brothers and the five of us set out once again.

As we walked, I briefly recounted what I had seen, making sure to keep my voice low so the heroes wouldn't know we were following them. My brothers chuckled as I recounted the heroes' battle with the bear and Odie's mistake. Fortunately, their laughter was quiet enough not to attract attention.

"This is perfect," I whispered. "If we play things right we might get the Herald's Staff a lot quicker than we thought."

I hoped I was right, but the chance of things going catastrophically wrong still loomed large before us. I would not relax until I had the Herald's Staff safely in my possession.

* * *

The heroes hiked for hours, stopping to rest only for short periods. Finally, they stopped in a secluded clearing and set up camp. I expected Hermes to leave now that the heroes had arrived at their destination, but instead he sat with them beside their fire.

I couldn't hear what they were saying from our hiding place, but from what little I could see it looked like they were discussing constellations or at least the stars that were visible in the clear night sky. After a while, I began to wonder if Hermes intended to stay the night. If he did it would put an end to our plan to capture one of the heroes, but then again it might allow us the chance to take the Herald's Staff from Hermes instead.

I considered that possibility for only a moment before dismissing it. The odds of us successfully getting the staff away from Hermes were zero. There was no way we could possibly catch him before he could call down a horde of woodland animals to attack us. No, we would have to hope he left, so we could carry out our original plan.

After what seemed like forever, but was probably only a few minutes Hermes took off. We waited until we were sure he was gone then we struck.

"Isn't this great," Jay was asking, as we got closer, "the mountain air."

"Hold that thought Jay," Theresa interrupted. "I'm sensing something."

"Another bear?" Herry asked worriedly.

"Bigger," Theresa answered. "Giants!"

Before we'd left our hiding place, I'd picked up a large tree branch. I planned to use to knock the heroes down. I hoped that would give me enough time to grab one of them and make a quick escape. I swung it, but Theresa had alerted the heroes to our presence and they were able to duck before it connected. Flinging it aside, I charged forward with Mimas and Thoon close behind.

While Mimas went after Neil and Thoon attacked Theresa, I turned my attention to Jay.

"Some vacation," Neil complained while somehow managing to avoid Mimas' attempts to knock him down. "No time to suntan, now this."

_Giants are attacking him yet he still finds time to whine_, I thought. _What an idiot_.

Apparently Archie wasn't too happy with his teammate's attitude either.

"Neil fight," he snapped.

"Oh all right," the blond twit grumbled.

I was about to slam my fist down on Jay's head when Herry knocked him out of the way.

"Odie the staff," Jay called.

It took me a moment to process what Jay had just said. I turned around and there was Odie and in his hands was…the Herald's Staff!

I couldn't believe it! What had possessed Hermes to entrust such a valuable object to this boy? He could barely lift it. This was completely ridiculous. It did make my job a lot easier, however. Snarling I started toward Odie.

"Giants! Giants, giants, giants!" the boy cried frantically.

He was pushing a switch on the staff and when that failed to produce results he started banging on it in a futile attempt to get it to work. Apparently, he was under the impression that giants were animals. I didn't know where he'd gotten that idea, but he was about to learn otherwise…the hard way.

I made a grab for him and when he tried to dodge it, he ended up in a clump of bushes. Smiling in satisfaction, I bent down and picked up the staff only to discover that he was still clinging to it.

"Help!" he called.

Unfortunately, for him his friends were all too busy fending off my brothers to come to his rescue. Irritated by his refusal to surrender the staff, I flicked my wrist and sent him hurtling into a nearby tree.

"Odie," Jay cried in alarm.

I turned back to the fight in time to see Atlanta beating Alcyoneus.

_When is he going to get over this petty need for revenge_? I wondered.

Then I remembered my own vendetta against Jay and decided that Alcyoneus' behavior wasn't so petty after all. The next moment however, I forget about it completely. I turned at the sound of one of my brothers crying out in pain. Mimas had somehow managed to put his foot down on the heroes' campfire.

_Clumsy idiot_, I fumed. _He knows we need to get the staff back to Cronus as quickly as possible_. _How are we supposed to do that if he can barely walk_?

I knew it wasn't really Mimas' fault. I also knew that Cronus would get more and more impatient the longer he had to wait and that he'd most likely take his impatience out on me.

I stood watching the battle for a few more seconds, then, I whistled for my brothers. We had what we'd come for it was time to go.

We moved as quickly as we could, trying to put as much distance between the heroes and ourselves as possible. I knew I'd hurt Odie when I threw him against that tree, but I had no idea how badly. I also didn't know if the heroes would choose to come after us first or get their friend help, if he needed it.

"Can't we stop for a minute?" Mimas pleaded about an hour later. "My foot's killing me."

I suppressed the urge to snap at him as I debated whether we should stop. Finally, I decided there was no harm in taking a short rest. If the heroes had planned to follow us, they would have done so by now.

The moment we stopped, Mimas dropped to the ground holding his injured foot in both hands. I sighed in frustration. Between Mimas' injured foot and the fact that it was almost pitch black I didn't see any way we could possibly make it back tonight. If we kept wandering around, in the dark, we would almost certainly get lost and Mimas would probably fall further behind the longer we walked. Finally, I made a decision.

"We'll stop here for the night," I informed the others.

Only Mimas looked relieved by my choice. The others expressions ranged from puzzled to annoyed.

"Why are we stopping?" Ephialtes demanded. "The city can't be that much further."

"We're stopping for three reasons," I answered. "One Mimas is hurt and can't keep up. Two it's dark so if we wander around much longer we'll probably end up going over a cliff and three because I said so!"

"You can stop if you want to," Ephialtes replied, "but I'm not spending the night in the middle of the forest."

Without another word, he turned and headed into the darkness. I watched him go then turned and faced the others.

"Does anyone want to join him?" I asked.

My remaining brothers shook their heads. They, at least, possessed some common sense.

"All right," I said. "Everyone find somewhere to lie down and try to get some sleep."

I knew that sleep wouldn't come easily in a dark, cold forest full of who knew what kind of predators, but I also knew that staying put was the better option at this point. There would be time enough to find our way back when the sun was up.

* * *

After spending most of the night tossing and turning, I was relieved when the first rays lightened the sky the next morning. I stood up and stretched, then looked around me. My brothers were sprawled throughout the clearing where we'd camped. Most of them appeared to be fast asleep, except for Mimas who was twitching and moaning, no doubt because of his injured foot.

I knew we had to return with the Herald's Staff as soon as possible, so I set about the task of rousing my brothers. As I woke them, I wondered what had happened to Ephialtes. Had he managed to find his way back to our hideaway or was he still wandering around the forest somewhere? I just hoped that wherever he was he had managed to stay out of trouble. I had enough problems already.

Once my brothers were awake, we set out again. I decided to head in the same direction Ephialtes had taken the night before, hoping that we might catch up to him. We didn't get far. Only a few feet from where we'd camped, the trail ended in a steep cliff.

"STOP!" I bellowed before anyone could blunder over the edge. The last thing I needed right now was another accident.

As my brothers came to a halt and we stared at the long drop before us, I suddenly remembered Ephialtes. I was certain he had come this way after leaving last night and if he had then he was almost certainly in trouble. I cautiously approached and peered over the edge, but I couldn't see anything below except a fast flowing river. I knew then that Ephialtes was dead. There was no way he could have survived a fall like this and even if he had, he couldn't swim.

"Idiot," I muttered. "This wouldn't have happened if you had just stopped like the rest of us."

We had barely escaped Tartarus and I had already lost three brothers. At this rate, they'd all be back there in no time. Sighing I climbed to my feet and turned to the others.

"Come on," I said, "we need to get this staff to Cronus."

We had barely resumed our trek when Mimas started complaining about his foot.

"Can we please stop?" he begged as he slowly limped along.

"We just started walking," I answered. "We can't stop every five minutes."

"But my foot…" he started. I cut him off.

"If you want to stop go ahead," I told him, "but I have to get this staff to Cronus right away. Anyone who wants to stay with Mimas is welcome to," I continued, "but I can't afford any more delays."

My brothers debated for a few minutes before deciding to stay with Mimas while I continued on my own. After they made their decision I hurried off, I had to get back before anything else went wrong.

* * *

I suppressed the urge to roll my eyes as I walked in on Cronus. It had taken hours to get back, my feet were throbbing with pain and I had expected Cronus to be furious with the long delay, so what I found waiting for me instead shocked me.

There he was, Cronus the immortal god of time himself, smashing a model city with model griffins. It took a lot of effort to avoid laughing at the absurdity of someone with Cronus' powers behaving like a child, but I knew better than to draw attention to this juvenile display.

"Ahem," I coughed politely so Cronus would know I was there.

"Haven't I told you to knock," Cronus snapped, obviously embarrassed.

Chuckling I held up the Herald's Staff, turning it slightly so it caught the light then I knelt and presented it to Cronus. He took it carefully a look of pleasure on his face.

"At last I can…" he began excitedly then, his expression changed abruptly from delight to confusion. "What's this…there's something wrong!" he exclaimed examining that staff more closely.

_What could be wrong?_ I wondered. Then I saw it. On one side of the staff, there was a triangular piece that was missing from the other side. Last night between the exhilaration of achieving our goal and the dark, I must have missed it.

"You fool it's broken!" he yelled at me. He came closer anger blazing in his eyes. "The Herald's Staff is powerless! I must have the other piece!" he roared hurling the damaged staff across the room.

I bit back a sigh of frustration. All that time and trouble for nothing and I had to put up with another of Cronus' temper tantrums. It wasn't that I didn't understand his anger, but I did feel that his behavior was a little extreme I failed to see how throwing the staff around would solve anything and I didn't think a little gratitude was too much to ask for either. After all, I had managed to retrieve most of the Herald's Staff. I briefly considered pointing this out, but felt, given Cronus' current mood, that would definitely be a mistake. Instead, I decided to retreat to another room and give Cronus time to cool off.

* * *

I was surprised when Cronus summoned me back only a short time later, but far more shocking was the task he had for me.

"It seems Odie has begun to realize the futility of fighting against me," he said. "I want you to go and retrieve him for me. Perhaps this sudden dissention on his part can work in our favor."

I couldn't believe my ears! Cronus was actually considering trusting one of the heroes! This was the craziest idea he'd ever had! I couldn't argue with him without landing myself in serious trouble, however, so I didn't say anything.

"One more thing," Cronus called as I was leaving, "make sure you blindfold the boy before you bring him back. This abrupt change of heart may be nothing more than a clever ruse. He is, after all, a descendent of Odysseus and one must never leave anything to chance."

On that point at least, we agreed.

I returned an hour later with a blindfolded Odie in tow and I couldn't help feeling that I was fortunate to have returned with him at all. Cronus had provided a limousine for me to use to retrieve the boy, which proved extremely fortunate, since when I arrived he was talking to Jay.

At first, I thought I would see proof that this whole defection was nothing but a clever ploy, but I soon realized that Jay and Odie were arguing about something. Maybe the smallest hero really was leaving his teammates behind.

Once we stopped, Odie removed his blindfold and I tapped him on the shoulder, a bit harder than necessary, and pointed in Cronus' direction with a growl.

"Odie, welcome how about a tour?" the god greeted him. He had a big, and to my eyes, fake smile on his face.

"Why don't you just cut to the chase," the boy snapped back.

I was shocked that he dared speak to Cronus in such a tone. I waited for Cronus' angry response and received a second shock when instead of hitting the roof he mildly replied, "Come now boy don't try to fool me with your feigned indifference, even now I can sense the hate swirling through you."

"That's a bean burrito you're sensing," Odie quipped.

I could not believe the liberties this pint-sized twerp was taking! If I had dared to speak to Cronus like that and there were times when I felt like it, I would have regretted it instantly and deeply. Yet Cronus was acting as though the small hero's behavior didn't trouble him in the slightest. At first, I couldn't figure out why, and then it hit me.

The Herald's Staff!

Undoubtedly, Cronus was hoping to persuade the boy to steal the missing piece of the staff from him former friends and allies. I wondered what it would take to convince him. I suspected I'd soon find out.

"Yes, well perhaps your hatred is only for me," Cronus retorted. "I'd be a fool to trust you just yet."

I fought down a contemptuous snort. Of course, Cronus would be a fool to trust the boy! I found myself pondering a new question now. Why not simply hold the boy hostage and offer to exchange him for the missing piece of the Herald's Staff?

It didn't take me long to come up with an answer. We couldn't just ransom the boy because his friends were certain to come up with a plan to free him and recover the Herald's Staff. Of course, we couldn't be certain that Odie's apparent change of heart wasn't a clever trick to get back the Herald's Staff anyway. The only real difference between Cronus' apparent plan and our other options was that this plan had a chance of succeeding. A chance I put roughly between slim and none, given our current success rate.

"All right, see you around," the boy responded turning to leave.

"Very well let me put this in terms your inferior brain might comprehend," Cronus started. "What if with the snap of a finger I could give you whatever you wanted?"

_Ah_, I thought, _now this sounds interesting_.

Cronus was going for broke, making a final desperate effort to win the boy's compliance. The question in my mind, however, was not so much, whether Cronus could give the boy whatever he wanted as what the boy might want. Fame? Fortune? Power? The possibilities were endless.

Odie it seemed did not agree.

"I ain't buying whatever you're selling," he proclaimed. "See ya."

_If you think Cronus is just going to let you walk out of here you're sadly mistaken_, I thought.

I was right. Cronus had finally lost patience with the boy and had seemingly decided to resort to drastic measures.

"Agnon stop him use any force necessary!" he barked at me.

_Finally_, I thought, _a chance to do something other than fetch things for Cronus_.

Odie backed up his hands held up in front of his face.

"Whoa, hold on there," he protested, "I'm a lover not a…"

I didn't care what Odie wasn't I still planned to smash him into the ground. I raised my fist preparing to strike.

It never connected.

I stared down at Odie in bafflement. He had raised both his hands to ward off the blow and somehow managed to catch my fist and keep it from connecting.

"Huh?' I grunted in confusion.

The next thing I knew Odie had flipped me onto my back.

_This shouldn't be possible_, I thought dizzily as he continued hurling me around effortlessly.

"…fighter?" he finished sounding as confused as I felt.

I was lying on the ground and through the haze drifting around inside my pain-filled skull I watched what unfolded next.

"What did you do to me?" Odie asked Cronus.

"The strength of one hundred giants' courses through your veins," Cronus explained. "Do you feel it?"

"Yes, yes!" the boy exclaimed. He smashed his fist against the ground, which cracked under the impact.

He did it again, but this time he only succeeded in hurting his hand. His power had disappeared as mysteriously as it had appeared.

"Ah!" he yelped shaking his injured hand. "Hey, what's the big idea?"

"I'm a fickle god, Odie," Cronus informed him. "Fickle and selfish, I like my generosity to be lauded with adulation and tribute."

_In other words_, I though sarcastically, _he's a colossal jerk who likes to play mind games_.

"Fine, name it, anything just…just give me back that power," Odie begged.

"Bring me the other piece of Hermes' precious Herald's Staff," Cronus ordered.

"That's it?" Odie sounded incredulous. "Consider it done."

By this time, I had managed to get back on my feet. If the boy was indeed powerless once more, he was going to pay for what he'd just done to me.

"Excellent," Cronus purred. He walked away snapping his fingers as he left.

In retrospect I probably should have paid that snap more attention, if I had perhaps I would have avoided the humiliation that followed. I crept up behind the boy anxious to get my revenge. The next minute I was once again flat on my back. This just wasn't my day.

As soon as the boy had gone, Cronus began bragging about his impending victory.

"I have the fool right where I want him," he crowed, "and once he delivers the missing piece of the Herald's Staff I will destroy him along with his pathetic friends."

I just nodded and agreed with everything Cronus said. Then when the opportunity presented itself I slipped away to enjoy a well-deserved rest. By now, my brothers had also returned. They had treated Mimas' burned foot as best they could and had retired to sleep themselves. I felt, given how extraordinarily busy I'd been the past couple of days, that I deserved to rest as much as they did. I was exhausted. Unfortunately, sleep, however well deserved, did not seem to be in the plan. I had barely left Cronus when he called me back again.

I returned and was surprised to see the boy with Cronus. Had he retrieved the missing piece of the Herald's Staff already? His next words combined with the look on Cronus' face quickly disabused me of that notion.

"I got lost," the boy admitted sheepishly.

"Which wouldn't have happened if you had escorted him back," Cronus snapped. "Now get moving we only have so much time before the heroes figure out what's going on!"

"Yeah, yeah, keep your shirt on," Odie replied as we walked away.

As we turned the corner, I was sure I heard Cronus grinding his teeth behind us. I made a mental note to watch the end of Cronus' scheme unfold using the scrying pool. I would enjoy seeing this boy get what was coming to him.

I parted company with the boy in the park both of us doing our best to remain unobserved. The last thing either of us needed was Odie's former friends spotting us together.

"Tell Cronus to meet me here in an hour," Odie instructed, "with the Herald's Staff."

I nodded and the two of us headed in opposite directions, Odie to retrieve the missing piece of the staff and me to report to Cronus.

When I returned to our hideout, I repeated Odie's instructions.

"Perfect," he said, his voice dripping with satisfaction. "Everything is proceeding according to plan."

* * *

Cronus set out at the appointed time and the second he was gone I hurried to the scrying pool anxious not to miss a moment of when was about to unfold. I thought about calling my brothers to join me, but decided this was something I want to savor alone. I arrived just in time.

Odie was standing in the middle of the clearing holding the piece of the Herald's Staff.

"Cronus, Cronus where are you?" he called.

Suddenly, Cronus appeared beside him.

"Excellent," he exclaimed snatching the piece of the Herald's Staff from Odie's outstretched head.

"Huh?" the boy gasped in confusion. He'd been looking in the opposite direction and he hadn't seen Cronus arrive.

At that moment, the heroes appeared on the far side of the clearing.

"Odie stop!" Jay shouted.

He was too late. Cronus was already reattaching the missing piece of the staff.

"This could be a problem," Theresa pointed out, a trifle needlessly I thought. Of course, it was a problem, for them anyway.

"What are they doing here?" Cronus demanded. "You didn't invite them did you?"

Of course he did! I wanted to shout. Destroy them all now while you have the chance!

"Hardly," Odie protested. "Dude I just committed grand theft ancient relic. What do I have to do to prove my loyalty?"

Cronus' expression went from angry to considering as he suggested, "Why don't you destroy them?"

He offered the Herald's Staff to Odie who shrugged and said, "That's it? Okay."

I was stunned. Cronus had just turned over the Herald's Staff to someone who, up until recently, he'd considered an enemy. What was he thinking? We didn't even know if he was really on our side! How could Cronus be so stupid?

Jay let out a shocked grasp and I began to wonder if maybe this wasn't a ruse after all.

Odie pressed the switch on the Herald's Staff.

"Griffins," he called.

The sky darkened, lightning flashed and a flock of griffins appeared from out of nowhere. They stared down at the heroes, eyes gleaming.

"Griffins attack!" the boy commanded pointing the staff in the direction of his former teammates.

Razor sharp talons glinting, the griffins dove toward the baffled heroes.

_Is this really happening_? I wondered. _Were we really going to win_?

Then, just as the griffins were about to tear the little pests to shreds, Odie pointed the staff at Cronus.

"Griffins attack Cronus!" the boy shouted.

"What? No!" the god cried out just as he was borne away in a griffin's steely grip. "No-o-o!"

I turned away from the scrying pool, sick with rage and disgust unable to watch anymore. I couldn't believe it. Cronus had taken a perfect opportunity to destroy the heroes and thrown it away! He'd allowed the possibility that one of the heroes might be willing to destroy the others, and the enjoyment he would have derived from such an act, to keep him from seeing the truth.

I didn't know how long it would take Cronus to escape from the griffins, but I knew he'd be furious when he did. I knew something else as well.

He'd blame me.

He'd blame me because I was the one who'd failed to notice the Herald's Staff was broken and because he wouldn't want to admit, even to himself, that he was at fault for handing the Herald's Staff to the boy.

I could hear him now. _If you'd just retrieved the _whole _Herald's Staff in the first place, I wouldn't have had to rely on that conniving little brat_!

It wasn't really my fault. If Cronus was smart he would have remembered that, a wise man once said beware of geeks baring gifts.

Or something like that.

**A/N: Well I hope you liked what you read. Please leave a review telling me what you liked and didn't like on your way out. Thank you. I will update faster if I get reviews, so if you want to see a new chapter soon you'd better leave one. For those of you who are interested, Ephialtes is a green giant with a stubby tail who only appears in "Trojan Horse". Since this was his first and last appearance, I decided to come up with an appropriate fate for him. Once again, if you are having difficulty keeping track of the giant's names I do have a directory on my profile page.**


	5. Chapter 4: Arachne

**A/N: Before we get to the fun part, reading the latest chapter, I have to explain a couple of things. If you don't want to read this, go ahead and skip it. When I first started writing this story I intended to make the chapter following "Trojan Horse" about episode 18 of CoTT "Bows and Eros". It wasn't until I had actually watched that episode on YouTube that I discovered that wouldn't work. In "Bows and Eros" Atlanta is using her laser wrist crossbow and there are several episodes before that where she isn't so it doesn't make sense to put that chapter first. Add to that the strange fact that a giant I named Eurytos (he's the bald near-human one with the beard) is in two episodes (14 and 19) even though Campe took him back to Tartarus at the end of episode 12 and you'll see why the next few chapters are out of episode order. Well, now that everything's clear as mud we can get to why you clicked here in the first place.**

Chapter 4  
Arachne

Clytius, Eurytos, Thoon and I crept quickly and quietly down the nearly deserted alleyway. We had just seen Odie disappearing around the corner and we were trying to sneak up on him.

Cronus had sent us out to perform a very simple task. He wanted us to capture a single hero and bring him or her back to our underground lair. He planned to interrogate our prisoner in the hopes of obtaining useful information, such as where the gods were hiding or where the heroes slept. Failing that, he would simply destroy the hero, thus breaking the prophecy and ensuring victory.

Unfortunately, capturing even a single hero was proving exceedingly difficult. Just getting one alone was problematic since they tended to go almost everywhere together. We had caught a rare break spotting Odie by himself and we intended to take full advantage.

Stealthily, we rounded the corner, and prepared to strike, but instead of finding one defenseless hero we found seven armed heroes. They were standing in a group at the end of the alley, clearly waiting for us.

_A trap_, I thought, _great, just great_.

I should have known better, even when we appeared to catch one of the heroes alone they would call for help using the walkie-talkie things they carried everywhere. It was impossible to be certain if that was what had happened here, but I wasn't prepared to rule the notion out.

One brief skirmish later found my brothers and me fleeing in defeat. Our failure would not please Cronus.

* * *

A short time later, Clytius, Eurytos, Thoon and I stood quietly, trying to ignore our throbbing bruises while Cronus yelled at us for the umpteenth time. As I had anticipated, he was less than thrilled with our inability to bring him even a single prisoner.

"Once again you've been soundly thrashed by a team of children?" Cronus' voice held a note of incredulity as he uttered the last word.

_Does he have to rub it in_? I thought.

Cronus' constant focus on our failures did nothing to improve the situation. The heroes had received both training and weapons from their immortal protectors, but all we got was a never-ending string of criticism and abuse. Maybe if Cronus took the time to strategize and train us we would have won by now. I wouldn't have minded a weapon either. Preferably, something I could use from a distance, like a sling with stones that never missed or a crossbow that fired unerringly.

It also seemed like we wasted a lot of time going out on random forays against the heroes. Why not spend that time uncovering and exploiting their weaknesses. I wished I dared to express my opinions, but I knew Cronus definitely didn't want advice from a brainless giant, so I kept quiet.

A sharp intake of breath pulled me from my thoughts. I turned just in time to see Thoon rising into the air. Cronus had his back to us and continued his rant oblivious to Thoon's plight.

"Why is it so hard to find good help these days?" he asked of no one in particular.

I knew that last comment should have offended me, after all, we were doing our best, but Clytius, Eurytos and I were too busy focusing on what was happening to Thoon to listen to what Cronus was saying.

"Pay attention when I yell at you!" Cronus barked suddenly, obviously annoyed by our distraction and apparently insensible of the fact Thoon was missing.

He turned away from us and continued muttering.

"Seven children," he said, "seven mortal children and you can't even catch one of them! Pathetic."

Normally, that last remark would have really irritated me, but the sudden disappearances of Clytius and Eurytos had focused my attention elsewhere.

"And another thing," Cronus shouted whirling around. Then he noticed I was alone. "Where are the others?" he asked.

I pointed upward nervously to where Thoon, Eurytos and Clytius dangled from spider webs. Then I felt something sticky on my back, which slowly hauled me up. I soon found myself in the same position as my brothers, which afforded me an excellent view of what happened next.

"What's this?" Cronus asked turning his gaze to where my brothers and I hung helplessly.

Then a strand of spider silk shot out and snagged his foot pulling him toward us.

"No, no, no-o-o-o-o!" Cronus howled.

Within moments, he was wrapped head to toe in sticky stands by the same unknown assailant that had accosted my brothers and me.

"This does not please me," he snapped.

_You think the rest of us are happy about this_, I wondered. _Although I suppose your position is slightly more untenable given that you're upside down and we're not_.

"Arachne show yourself," the god demanded.

"You know I prefer the shadows," Arachne answered.

"Well to what do I owe the pleasure of _your_ visit?" Cronus inquired. "It's not enough for Hera to send her yelping mortals after me, now she has to send the help?"

_Yeah_, _that's right_, I thought. _Let's insult the crazy spider lady_, _that'll really help_.

I had heard of Arachne, of course. What with the whispered conversations between other prisoners in Tartarus and the occasional comment made by the guards it was almost impossible not to hear rumors of what was happening on the surface. I didn't know how much of what I'd gleaned was the truth, but the bits about her being unstable since her transformation from human to spider certainly seemed to be accurate.

"I am tired of serving those gods, Cronus," she answered. "Consider this my audition."

_This is a heck of a way to get someone's attention_, I thought. _Clearly_,_ subtlety isn't her forte_.

"Go on," the god invited.

"You said yourself good help is hard to find," Arachne reminded him.

"Yes, true," Cronus conceded.

My brothers and I looked pointedly away. Cronus had given us a full catalogue of our faults. We didn't need to hear him badmouth us to some overgrown spider too.

"I will bring you the seven children," Arachne continued, "and all I ask for in exchange is that you make me human again."

"Well, how can I say no," Cronus decided.

_Yes_, I thought, _especially since she probably won't let you down until you agree_.

At that moment, I heard Arachne leaving and an instant later Cronus realized what was happening too.

"Arachne," he called. "Well you could've let me down first!"

I'd like to think he meant she could've let us all down, but I'm not delusional. My brothers and I could have hung from the roof until doomsday for all Cronus cared.

* * *

We hung around up there for hours waiting for Arachne to return. I considered calling Agrios, Alcyoneus, Gration and Mimas to help us, but dismissed the idea when I realized that even if they heard us there was no way they'd be able to get us down.

While we waited, I pondered something that had bothered me since Arachne's departure. Why had she decided to capture the heroes for Cronus in exchange for her human form instead of simply turning Cronus over to the gods herself? I was certain that if Arachne had handed Cronus over to the gods they would gladly have given her any reward she wished, so why volunteer to work for Cronus instead. The only explanation I could come up with was that Arachne was just as angry with the gods as Cronus and had decided she would rather do something to thwart them than help them.

When Arachne finally returned Cronus was less than pleased to see her.

"What's the big idea?" he demanded. "Why did you leave me hanging here for hours, upside down?"

"I thought you might benefit from a lesson in patience," Arachne replied smoothly. "Evidently I was mistaken."

Cronus gave her a look that stated his opinion far more eloquently than any words. With a sigh, Arachne scuttled across the ceiling and began lowering Cronus carefully to the ground. Once Cronus was on the ground, Arachne slit open his spider web cocoon, then, while Cronus pulled clinging strands of silk from his suit, told him how her plan was progressing.

"Things are going well," Arachne said. "I've hypnotized Atlanta and convinced her that I'm her only friend."

"Be careful," Cronus cautioned, "when you're dealing with those kids nothing is certain."

I knew he was thinking of the time he'd foolishly trusted Odie and price he'd paid as a result. Arachne, however, did not appear to consider this a serious problem.

"Don't worry," she soothed, "I have everything under control."

_I doubt it_, I thought. _If you were smart_,_ you'd listen to Cronus he knows what he's saying._

Arachne, however, seemed disinclined to take any advice, but her own. I wondered if her desperate desire to be human again was clouding her judgment.

Shortly thereafter Arachne left again. Once she'd gone, Cronus looked up to where Clytius, Eurytos, Thoon and I still dangled from the ceiling. For a moment, I wasn't sure what he intended. I hoped he'd let us down, but given his current attitude I was certain he wouldn't. When Cronus started to leave I was sure I was right, but just before he left he snapped his fingers.

_What was the point of that_? I wondered confused.

Then I heard a tearing sound coming from above me. I looked up and to my horror discovered that the strand of spider web that anchored me was giving way. Now I knew why Cronus had snapped his fingers and I wasn't happy! I barely had time to register this unfortunate fact before the web parted and I plummeted to the ground.

I hit the floor hard and it was several minutes before I could think clearly enough to figure out what to do next. I heard groans around me so I knew my brothers had experienced similar hard landings. It took quite a while and a great deal of effort, but I finally managed to free myself from the clinging strands of silk.

Every part of my body ached as I lumbered over to Clytius and helped him extricate himself from his sticky cocoon. Then I went to help Eurytos while Clytius worked on Thoon. Thoon was the most difficult to extricate because his fur was matted into the webbing. By the time we managed to free him Cronus had wandered back into the room and Arachne had returned.

"I've captured the seven children!" she announced triumphantly.

I couldn't believe it. After all the effort my brothers and I had put into trying to capture the heroes this crazy spider woman had actually succeeded. It just wasn't fair!

"Excellent," Cronus purred. "Where are they now?"

"I left them back at my web," Arachne answered.

"You left them alone!" Cronus demanded.

"Don't be ridiculous," Arachne chided him, "Atlanta's guarding them."

Cronus stared at her an expression of utmost confusion on his face.

"You left one of the heroes to guard the other six?" he asked slowly as though he'd missed something.

"I hypnotized her," Arachne explained. "I told you that."

"You're certain there's no chance she'll break your hold on her?" Cronus inquired.

"Yes," Arachne sighed sounding slightly impatient. "Now do you want to go and destroy them or not?"

"Very well," Cronus replied, turning to follow her.

* * *

As soon as Cronus and Arachne left, I gathered my brothers and we headed down to the chamber housing Cronus' scrying pool. I would have preferred a front row seat to witness the heroes' demise, but failing that watching the event unfold on the scrying pool's smooth surface would do.

The scene that appeared on the pool's surface filled me with unparalleled delight. Webbing encased five of the seven heroes who were hanging from a huge spider web. I turned to my brothers and saw that they too were enjoying this spectacle. Then a thought occurred to me…

"There are only five heroes in the web," I blurted out.

My brothers stared at me puzzlement written on their faces.

"Huh?" Clytius grunted.

"There are only five heroes in the web," I repeated, "but Arachne told Cronus she captured all seven heroes. If Atlanta was guarding the others there should be six heroes in the web not five."

"So?" Eurytos asked.

"So where's," I took a quick glance at the web, "Archie?" I finished.

"Maybe he got loose and Atlanta went after him to recapture him," Thoon suggested.

"I don't think so," I replied. "Remember we were all trapped in Arachne's spider silk and even though we're strong it took us ages to get loose. I don't think Archie has the strength to have broken free on his own, Herry maybe, but not Archie. I think Atlanta helped him escape, but didn't have time to free the others."

"Here come Cronus and Arachne," Clytius grunted pulling our attention back to the scrying pool.

"I wonder what excuse she'll give Cronus for being two kids short," Eurytos mused.

"I just hope he has sense enough to destroy the other five before Archie and Atlanta can stop him," I answered.

"Do you really think they could?" Thoon asked.

"Let's just say I'd prefer it if Cronus didn't take that chance," I replied.

Cronus and Arachne were just entering our field of view on the scrying pool.

"Your décor is very…gothic," Cronus commented.

"I think you'll love how I've decorated the web," Arachne responded.

"Huh?" Cronus gasped as he glanced at the web. "There are only five of them."

"Impossible!" Arachne exclaimed.

"The deal was seven children in exchange for your human form," Cronus reminded her. "No more no less."

"They can't have gotten far," Arachne replied. "Wait here."

She hurried off and Cronus turned his attention to the five heroes hanging in the web.

"Oh exciting isn't it?" he asked gleefully. "Such a momentous occasion."

The heroes looked less than impressed.

"No, no don't feel bad," Cronus went on, "you were bound to fail. I mean after all you're only mortal."

"Why is he wasting time?" Clytius wondered. "Why doesn't he get on with it?"

"He's probably waiting until all seven are there," I answered. "That way he'll have the pleasure of destroying them all at once."

I was certain Cronus was making a mistake in not destroying the five heroes he had at his mercy immediately, but I didn't want to voice my concerns to my brothers. I figured they wouldn't listen to me anyway.

"Maybe I'll build a museum in your honor," Cronus was saying with the air of someone who's had a brilliant idea.

"Oh no," Odie groaned. "He's gonna bore us to death."

Cronus growled in annoyance.

A few moments later Arachne returned with Archie and Atlanta. Much to my surprise Atlanta was forcing Archie along with a pitchfork.

"What's going on?" I wondered aloud.

"Who cares?" Eurytos snapped. "They're all there so now Cronus can destroy them and be done with it."

"Wonderful," Cronus sighed when the last two heroes arrived. "Put him with the others."

"Atlanta," Archie protested.

"Shut up!" Atlanta snapped knocking Archie to the ground.

"We're hooped," Odie declared solemnly.

"Now then time to get to work," Cronus chuckled, rubbing his hands together eagerly.

"I wouldn't trust him Arachne," Atlanta spoke up. "Get your payment first."

"She's right," Arachne agreed. "I want my payment."

"And you shall have it," Cronus assured her, "as soon as I have disposed of them."

"I've honored my end of the bargain, Cronus," Arachne pointed out.

"Very well," Cronus sighed.

He snapped his fingers and a burst of purple light surrounded Arachne.

"Now!" Atlanta shouted to Archie hurrying toward the web.

"I knew it!" Archie exclaimed climbing to his feet and rushing to join her.

Clytius, Eurytos, Thoon and I watched helplessly as Archie and Atlanta worked to free their friends. Meanwhile Arachne had completed her transformation.

"Human, I'm human!" she exclaimed joyfully.

"Congratulations," Atlanta replied sarcastically before kicking her in the face.

"Hmm clever," Cronus commented.

"After him before he escapes!" Jay shouted.

"Hmm I'll be going now," Cronus replied.

The heroes rushed toward him, but before they could close the distance, Cronus used his scythes to collapse the tunnel and cut off his escape route.

"Oh and Arachne," he called through the debris, "our deal is off."

"No!" Arachne cried. Pointing at Atlanta she shouted, "This is all your fault!"

A moment later Arachne was a spider once again, but with a difference. A difference she failed to notice until she moved to attack Atlanta.

She was no longer a giant spider now she was the size of an ordinary spider.

"What?" she exclaimed in confusion. "No! No!"

Atlanta picked up an amphora lying nearby and used it to catch Arachne.

"Mercy, mercy!" the tiny spider pleaded.

"Whatever," Atlanta replied.

I turned away and headed back up the tunnel leading to the scrying pool. I didn't want to see anymore. I couldn't believe it! Once again Cronus had thrown away a prime opportunity to eliminate those meddlesome kids by allowing himself to be caught up in Arachne's web of delusions and what was worse there was nothing I could say or do to prevent this from happening in the future.

Nothing.

**A/N: There you have it. Please review. Oh and if I've made any mistakes let me know where they are so I can correct them.**


	6. Chapter 5: The Road to Victory

**A/N: Well, here's the next chapter. Thank you to Toymaker for reviewing the last chapter. If it weren't for you, I probably wouldn't bother continuing this story.**

Chapter 5  
The Road to Victory

Cronus had just returned from one of his infrequent solo forays against the heroes. He was in a state of extreme agitation over something and headed immediately for the scrying pool. I took a tray of food to him assuming he'd be hungry as he so often was after missions like this. As I approached the scrying pool, I could hear someone crying out in pain.

"Again, again," Cronus commanded a slightly hysterical edge to his voice.

I looked down into the pool and saw a Chimera biting Jay.

_Oh, so that's why he was in such a hurry_, I thought. _He was afraid he'd miss all the fun_.

I stood quietly, patiently waiting for Cronus to acknowledge my presence, although with something as entertaining as that to watch I realized it could be a while, not that I cared, of course, I was enjoying the spectacle too. Surprisingly, however, he turned to me almost at once.

"Isn't it wonderful Agnon?" he exclaimed, happier than I had ever seen him. "Chimera poison is fatal he won't last the night. The prophecy is broken. I've won! I've won!"

In his excitement, Cronus grabbed my face, startling me so much I dropped the tray. The food fell to the floor with a crash, but Cronus was so giddy with delight he never noticed.

"Prepare for my ascension," he commanded striding away. "Oh," he added suddenly, "and bring me something to eat I'm starving."

"I thought you would be," I muttered as he walked away.

I rubbed my sore face then got to work cleaning up the mess.

As I gathered up the broken dishes and bits of food Cronus' words started to sink in. If what he'd just said was true and I was certain it was, based on what I remembered about Chimeras, then that meant we really had won.

It took a few more minutes for that thought to take hold.

We…had…won.

Suddenly, cleaning up a bunch of spilled food didn't seem nearly as important as sharing this incredible news with my brothers. I knew I still had to prepare another meal for Cronus, but I decided that could wait a few more minutes.

After depositing the remnants of Cronus' ruined meal in the cavern that served as our kitchen I hurried to deliver the news of our triumph to my brothers.

I found them lounging around our hideout's main cavern waiting for potential orders from Cronus. I was about to tell them the good news when Cronus walked in.

"Gather around," he called, "I have an important announcement to make."

Curious, my brothers hurried over to hear what Cronus had to say.

"Today marks the beginning of a glorious new era," Cronus intoned solemnly. "Jay is dead. The prophecy is broken. I have won!"

My brothers stared at him in shock.

"Preparations for my ascension will begin immediately," Cronus continued. "As of this moment I am the ruler of the world!"

My brothers and I cheered enthusiastically as Cronus left the room. The moment he was gone they crowded around me.

"Is it true?" Clytius demanded. "Is Jay really dead?"

"How did it happen?" Eurytos asked.

I held up my hands for silence.

"Yes," I answered. "Jay really is dead or at least he will be soon. A Chimera bit him. I saw it myself on the scrying pool."

Loud cheers greeted my announcement. At last, after months of hardship and failure our victory was at hand.

* * *

Arrangements for Cronus' ascension proceeded quickly. I was preparing him a new meal to replace the one he had inadvertently ruined earlier when it occurred to me that we should have a great feast to celebrate our triumph. I set Agrios, Alcyoneus, Clytius, Eurytos, Gration, Mimas and Thoon to the task of preparing a suitable meal while I took food to Cronus.

After he had eaten, Cronus recruited me to help him select the perfect outfit for his ascension. He stood in front of a full-length mirror while I handed him various items of clothing. By now, preparations for our victory banquet were well underway, so Agrios, Alcyoneus, Clytius, and Gration had wandered in to watch the proceedings. The first article Cronus considered was a powder blue tuxedo. He held it in front of himself and stared at his reflection for a moment.

"I'm not going to a senior prom Agnon, I'm going to rule the world!" he exclaimed tossing the garment aside in disgust. "I need something that says kneel before me with a hint of obey my every command."

I decided to try a red cape since I had no idea what articles of clothing might possess the qualities Cronus desired. Fortunately, I apparently made the right choice.

"Ah, yes," Cronus sighed, taking the cape from me and holding it up. "Perfect." What he said next gave me the shock of my life. "You've always been my favorite Agnon," he informed me. "How would you like to rule somewhere, hmm? What do you say to Australia?"

I couldn't believe it. Not only had Cronus called _me_ his favorite he'd just offered to let me rule part of the world! I racked my brain trying to recall whether I knew anything about Australia. Nothing came to mind, but that didn't matter. I didn't care how big or small Australia was the point was I'd be ruling it. First Jay had died and now I was getting my own country. This was the best day of my life!

"Don't worry boys," Cronus added turning to Agrios, Alcyoneus, Clytius, and Gration, "everyone gets to rule a country."

Laughing my brothers headed out of the room, no doubt to inform Eurytos, Mimas, and Thoon of this exciting new development. I wondered how they'd react.

* * *

While my brothers were gone, I scoured Cronus' closet for the remaining pieces of the perfect ascension outfit. After all, he couldn't just wear the cape. At last, I emerged with a black and gold suit of armor.

"Excellent choice, Agnon," Cronus praised.

Smiling with satisfaction, I helped Cronus to don the armor and clasp the cape around his neck. When I had finished he turned once more to the mirror to admire his reflection.

_Now that's an outfit that says kneel before me with a hint of obey my every command_, I thought, pleased.

When Agrios and Alcyoneus returned with Eurytos in tow, Cronus was rehearsing what he'd say upon his arrival above ground. This rehearsal seemed to consist principally of his repeating the phrase 'people of earth surrender' with emphasis on different words.

"_People _of earth surrender," he started. "Um, no, no, no, people _of _earth surrender. That's not it, oh wait, people of _earth_ surrender. No, no, people of earth _surrender_."

No matter how many times he said it he couldn't quite seem to get it to sound the way he wanted. My brothers and I watched this spectacle with mounting confusion.

_What difference does it make how he says it_? I wondered.

"Maybe I should destroy something as soon as I arrive, a show of force. What do you think?" he asked.

I had no idea. I didn't understand why Cronus was wasting time on this when he could be out conquering the world. I had already spent hours helping him choose the right clothes and I didn't see any reason to delay any longer.

I knew I should be more excited. Cronus had eliminated Jay, the boy I held accountable for the death of Porphyrion and at least partly responsible for the death of Enceladus. We had won. We were going to rule the world, but for some reason I was experiencing a sense of doubt. I knew it didn't make sense. Jay was dead. There was no way the heroes could stop us now and yet I couldn't shake the feeling that somehow something was going to go wrong. Maybe it was because we had come close to defeating the heroes before and then, just when it seemed like we couldn't lose, something had happened to snatch our victory away.

_That won't happen this time, though_, I thought. _There's no way the heroes can save Jay_. _A Chimera bit him_. _He's as good as dead_. _Isn't he_?

I wracked my brain, trying to remember if I'd ever heard of a cure for Chimera venom, but nothing came to mind. I thought about asking Cronus, but decided against it. He and my brothers were so happy, so excited that I couldn't bear the thought to introducing the tiniest thread of doubt into their minds. Just because I was uneasy didn't mean I had to spoil everyone else's good time. Besides, I was certain my worries had no basis in reality. I was just having difficulty excepting the new order of things that was all.

_I need to do something_, I decided. _Keep busy, so I don't have time to dwell on all these negative thoughts_.

I gestured to my brothers and the four of us slipped away. We still had preparations to make and I was going to need some help. Cronus never even noticed we'd gone.

* * *

We retrieved Clytius, Gration, Mimas and Thoon from the kitchen and together my brothers and I set up two long trestle tables, covered them with tablecloths and started piling them with food.

Between us, we had managed to prepare a sumptuous feast. Huge platters of roasted meats competed with mountains of vegetables and fresh fruit. There were pitchers of wine and more fresh baked, buttery rolls then anyone could eat in a lifetime. The centerpiece of our table, however, was a massive twelve layer chocolate cake covered in icing so dark it looked almost black. We had enough food to feed an army. I hoped Cronus would appreciate all the trouble we'd taken.

"I can't believe this is really happening," Mimas said as we worked.

"I know," Thoon agreed. "It all seems like a dream."

"If this is a dream I don't ever want to wake up," Gration asserted.

"It's just too bad Porphyrion, Enceladus and Ephialtes aren't here," I added.

There was a moment of silence as we contemplated the absence of our three dead brothers.

"Hey, I have an idea," Alcyoneus declared.

We all looked at him expectantly.

"Why don't we ask Cronus to let each of us have one of the heroes?" he suggested.

"What would we do with them?" I asked.

"Anything we want," Alcyoneus answered. "It's about time we got a little payback for all the things they've done to us."

"You just want a chance to pummel Atlanta," I retorted. "I know she got away from you the first time you confronted her, but don't you think it's time you let it go?"

"I will never let it go!" Alcyoneus shouted.

"Okay, okay," I responded backing away. "There's no need to get so worked up. What did she do to make you so mad, anyway?"

"She called me ugly," Alcyoneus snarled.

_Oh_, I thought, _now I understand_.

I had always wondered why Alcyoneus seemed to dislike Atlanta so much, why he took every opportunity to attack her. Now his attitude made perfect sense. Atlanta had insulted him and his wounded pride demanded that she pay for it.

"I want Archie or Theresa," Mimas spoke up suddenly.

"Why them?" I asked genuinely curious. I wasn't aware that Mimas had a history with either of those heroes.

"Archie rode around on my back like I was a horse, hit me with his whip and kicked me in the face," Mimas began, "and Theresa is responsible for me stepping on that campfire."

I remembered the campfire incident from when Cronus had tasked us with recovering Hermes' Herald's Staff. It had taken weeks for Mimas' burned foot to heal.

"I know," Thoon piped up, "why don't I take Archie for a while and you can take Theresa then we'll switch?"

"Perfect," Mimas replied grinning broadly. "Maybe I'll dangle the little witch over a fire and she how she likes being burned."

"What about you?" I asked Clytius. "Which of the heroes do you want?"

"I want Neil," Clytius answered after a momentary pause.

"Why?" I questioned utterly baffled.

"I want to roll him in dirt until he's completely filthy," Clytius announced. "Can't you just picture his reaction?"

I roared with laughter as I did just that. The idea of the strutting peacock with his hair sticking out everywhere covered in dirt, shrieking his head off was incredibly appealing.

"Which hero do you want?" Clytius asked turning to Eurytos.

"I think I'll take Herry," Eurytos decided. "It'll be fun to use _him_ as a punching bag for a change."

"That leaves Odie," I said.

"I'll take him," Agrios offered. "I think I'll dangle him out a window. I'm sure his reaction will be priceless."

"What about Agnon and Gration?" Mimas asked.

"I'll share Herry with Gration," Eurytos offered.

"Why not," Gration agreed. "I wouldn't mind punching someone who can't hit back."

I shrugged. "The only hero I really wanted to pound was Jay," I answered, "and he's already dead, but maybe I'll throw a few punches at Herry too."

I was thinking of Enceladus. I held Herry partially responsible for his death, since he was the one who had wrapped us both in a chain and pushed us over the side of a ship. Jay had asked him to get us out of there way, but it was Herry's fault we had ended up in the water and therefore his fault that Enceladus had drowned.

"We're getting ahead of ourselves," Alcyoneus pointed out. "Cronus may have plans for the remaining heroes for all we know."

I nodded my agreement.

"We'll ask him about it later," I announced. "Right now we have to finish preparing for his ascension."

We all got back to work setting up for the meal. Each of us lost in his own thoughts.

* * *

A short while later Alcyoneus, Clytius, Eurytos, Mimas, Thoon and I stood before Cronus. Gration was finishing a few last minute meal preparations.

"It is time!" Cronus proclaimed and donning his helmet, he rose on a stone pillar heading for the surface and his conquest of earth.

I was expecting Cronus to be gone for some time. After all, he still had to track down the remaining heroes and the gods and deal with them, so I was astonished when he returned only a few minutes later. Without a word, he tore the helmet from his head and stomped toward the exit flinging pieces of armor everywhere as he went.

"What happened?" Thoon wondered aloud.

Cronus paused for a moment, whirled and fired a blast of magic obliterating Thoon instantly and completely. My six remaining brothers and I stood and stared in shock.

I couldn't believe this was happening. One minute we were celebrating victory and the next things had gone horribly wrong. I had just lost another brother and I didn't even know why. Offering no explanation, Cronus turned on his heel and stormed out. A few minutes later, I heard him overturning a table in the next room.

"I don't understand," Mimas whispered. "What went wrong?"

"Jay must have survived somehow," I answered. "Maybe the gods discovered a way to save him. I don't know."

I had no desire to continue a pointless conversation, so I left. Entering the adjoining room, I stared at the remains of the overturned table. Broken dishes and scattered food covered the floor. The cape I had selected for Cronus was lying in a puddle of wine and our once-beautiful cake, ruined.

Seeing it suddenly gave me an irrational desire to destroy something. Bellowing in rage, I heaved the remaining table onto its side spilling its contents all over the floor. Then, howling in frustration I seized what few dishes had survived and threw them against the wall. Unsatisfied with that I grabbed the nearest chair and hurled it across the room. By the time my fury had finally ebbed, the room and its contents were a shambles with food splattered on the walls and floor amid the remains of broken dishes and smashed chairs.

Never before, had I given such vent to my anger. Never before had I felt such impotent rage. It wasn't fair! What should have been the best day of my life had turned into a disaster. I had walked the road to victory and had once again ended up on the path of defeat.

I just didn't understand what had gone wrong. What should have been our greatest triumph had turned into another unmitigated disaster. We had suffered defeats before, but perhaps because victory had seemed so certain this one hit harder than the others had. It didn't matter now, though. The only thing that mattered was revenge and one way or another I would get it and soon.

Turning from the destruction, I headed for the scrying pool. It might be too late to learn what had caused this latest catastrophe, but I would be ready the next time an opportunity presented itself. One day, the heroes luck would run out and when it happened I would be there and then, victory would be mine.

**A/N: It occurred to me that Agnon was taking all these defeats a bit too much in stride, so I decided to have him act out his feelings of rage and frustration. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and will be kind enough to leave me a review. Seriously folks, if I don't start getting more reviews I may decide to discontinue this story, so if you want it to keep going let me know. Also for those of you who are wondering, Thoon is the giant who's top half resembles a polar bear. There is no indication that he dies in this episode, however, it is the last time he makes an appearance, so I decided to write in his death.**


	7. Chapter 6: Prisoner Campe

**A/N: Welcome to chapter six. Thank you to healme13 and Feather Gambler for reviewing the last chapter.**

Chapter 6  
Prisoner Campe

I stood quietly watching Cronus pace furiously around the room. He was in a towering temper because his latest scheme to defeat the heroes had failed. Now he was desperately trying to think up a new plan.

"There must be some way to eliminate those kids," he fumed. "There must be something I haven't tried, some option I haven't explored, but what?"

Frustrated he turned to the scrying pool, no doubt hoping it could provide the long sought for idea.

"Hmm," he muttered as he stared into its murky depths. "This looks promising."

I peered past him, trying to determine what he found so intriguing. I saw Herry talking to an elderly woman.

"I'll stop by tonight to check on you granny," he said.

"You don't need to do that Herry dear," she answered.

"I know, but I want to," he responded.

"Well just make sure you're careful," the old woman admonished. "You never know what sort of weirdoes might be running around these days."

"I'll be careful gran," Herry promised. "See you later."

"Goodbye Herry," the old woman called.

Cronus turned from the scrying pool, a nasty smile on his face.

"Get your brothers," he ordered, "we have a job to do."

* * *

Several hours and some extensive planning later, we were finally ready to set out. Cronus' plan was to kidnap Herry's grandmother and hold her hostage. He would leave behind a clue to her location and we would be waiting when Herry showed up to rescue her.

It was dark when we reached our destination Cronus rang the doorbell then decided to take a more direct approach and had me punch a hole through the door. The home's elderly occupant let out a startled shriek.

"Knock, knock," Cronus said peering through the hole.

He reached inside and opened the door allowing the two of us to enter.

"Ah, granny we meet at last," the god said pleasantly.

I reached out a hand, figuring that subduing an old woman would be a snap after tangling with the heroes.

I soon learned otherwise.

Subduing this particular old woman proved exceedingly difficult. She kicked, hit, bit, scratched and just generally did everything humanly possible to avoid capture. It was actually rather impressive. Fortunately, because she was elderly she tired quickly allowing us to finally shackle her hands and feet, and drag her off. Before we left, Cronus carefully placed a small wrapped box on the hall table. Inside was the clue that would lead Herry to us or so we hoped.

We stepped outside and Cronus opened a portal, transporting us to the foot of an imposing mountain range. Granny looked around as though hunting for something.

_What is she looking for_, I wondered, _a means of escape_?

Granny unknowingly answered my unspoken question a moment later when she bent down to retrieve a stout looking stick.

_Ah_, I thought, _of course, she wants a walking stick to help her move along the trail_.

We started hiking, Cronus in the lead followed by Alcyoneus and Gration, then granny and finally me, Clytius and Eurytos. I had hoped that Agrios and Mimas would accompany us, but Mimas was still mourning the death of Thoon, his twin brother, at Cronus' hands and Agrios' heads were fighting with each other again, making him impossible to deal with.

As we walked, I wondered why Cronus hadn't simply transported us directly to our destination. What was the point of having us hike for hours through the mountains? I would've asked if there was the slightest chance I'd get an answer.

Granny stopped suddenly causing Clytius, Eurytos and I to crash into each other.

"Uh, what do you think you're doing?" Cronus asked.

"You break my good door, you drag me out of my house in the middle of the night and now you force me to hike through the mountains in my bunny slippers!" Granny exclaimed waving her walking stick. "I am taking a break," she finished in a surprisingly calm tone given her tirade.

"Charming," Cronus sighed. "Agnon," he said snapping his fingers.

"Uh-huh," I replied reaching over to pick her up only to yank my hand back a second later when she smacked it with her stick.

"I suppose we can spare a few minutes," Cronus chuckled clearly amused by our elderly captive's behaviour.

Once again, the old woman's spirit impressed me. It takes guts to stand up to Cronus.

* * *

It was daylight when we finally reached our destination: the Temple of Prometheus. Granny had forced us to stop several more times and even now was continuing to hurl verbal abuse at Cronus, clearly oblivious to the seriousness of her current predicament.

"I don't know who you think you are," she shrieked, "but when my grandson finds out that I'm missing…"

"My dear woman," Cronus began clearly losing patience, "if he doesn't find us you might want to consider remedial hero school."

"What are you talking about?" the old woman demanded.

"Haven't you even wondered about his inhuman strength, that obsessive compulsion to help others?" Cronus sighed in exasperation.

"He's a good boy," Granny replied, loyally.

"He's a hero, my good woman," Cronus explained, "tasked by the gods themselves to save the world from me."

I couldn't help noticing the hint of pride that entered Cronus' voice as he uttered the last two words.

"Then what do you need me for?" Granny asked, plainly puzzled.

"This is a trade," Cronus answered, "your life for his."

I stood there listening to their conversation and wondering how much longer we'd have to wait before Herry showed up, not that long as it turned out. No sooner had Cronus concluded his conversation with Herry's grandmother, then, we heard someone talking not far away.

"That's my granny down there," said an all too familiar voice. Herry was talking loudly. He obviously didn't realize how well sound carried in a quiet place like this.

"Keep quiet." I heard another familiar voice snap as we drew closer to Herry's hiding place.

"Why should I listen to you?" Herry demanded.

"Well, well, well," Cronus smirked as we walked around the pillar concealing the two combatants. There was Herry and with him, much to my surprise, was Campe, the jailer of Tartarus.

"To keep us from being captured," Campe answered dropping the weighted net she was holding.

I couldn't believe it! What was Campe doing here with Herry? Was she working with the heroes? If so, then where were the others? It appeared that she had intended to recapture Cronus, but obviously, that plan had failed.

"Herry so good of you to finally make it," Cronus remarked cheerfully, "and Campe, what a delicious surprise."

Alcyoneus and Eurytos laughed at the notion that our long time jailer was now our prisoner and I couldn't deny I found the irony of the situation humorous myself.

"Herry is that you?" Granny called. "Be careful it's a trap!"

"Thanks granny," Herry sighed.

_You're warning came a little late_, I thought, _better luck next time. Oh, wait there won't be a next time_.

We shackled Herry and Campe then, with a little help from Gration and a lit torch, I forced Campe's scorpion into a cage.

"Ah the irony of this moment," Cronus sighed, "the captor is now the captive."

"Worry not Herry," Campe said, "our allies will be here momentarily."

"Our allies?" Herry answered incredulously. "You tried to ditch us, remember? They don't even know where we are thanks to you."

_Ah_, I thought, _that explains a lot. Campe let the heroes think she was on their side, but when an opportunity to recapture Cronus presented itself, she double crossed them and came here alone. Obviously, Herry didn't trust her, so he followed her. Too bad for them the others have no idea where to find them_.

"Have you never heard of a bluff?" Campe demanded.

_Apparently not_, I thought.

"Light the signal fire!" Cronus ordered.

"The signal fire?" Herry repeated sounding startled.

"Zeus punished Prometheus here," Campe explained, "for giving the gift of fire to man."

"Oh, oh you're forgetting the best part," Cronus interrupted eagerly. "Every day Zeus sent an eagle to tear out Prometheus' liver. He suffered for thousands of years, but only because his liver had this nasty habit of growing back. Your granny's demise should be swift and relatively painless."

I lit the signal fire and before long, we could hear the eagle's cries in the distance. I expected Cronus to hang around in order to subject Herry to the trauma of watching his granny die a horrible death. However, he was apparently anxious to be on his way, so leaving granny to her fate we set off down the mountain with our prisoners. As we walked, I contemplated the gristly death Cronus might have in mind for them. I also wondered, once again, why Cronus was not simply transporting all of us through a portal since it would have saved considerable time.

"Come along," Cronus commanded dragging Campe after him.

"Don't worry granny I'll save you," Herry called.

"I'm not worried!" Granny snapped.

_Well you should be_, I thought.

To be honest, I wasn't sure about leaving Herry's grandmother for the eagle to devour. It was one thing to kill and maim the heroes, but quite another to pick on a semi-defenceless old woman. It wasn't her fault Herry was her grandson. I didn't know why it bothered me so much, but it just didn't seem fair. However, there was nothing I could do about it. Cronus would never listen to me. I realized I needed to take my mind off these unproductive thoughts, so I decided to amuse myself by poking Campe's scorpion with a stick. I was enjoying myself too until…

"Hey!" Herry shouted.

"Huh?" I grunted turning my attention to him.

A second later, a rock thudded into my chest with enough force to knock me back a few steps. My brothers mocking laughter ringing in my ears and anger burning in my heart I started toward the boy intent on teaching him a lesson. Cronus' voice pulled me up short.

"Enough!" he snapped. "You'll have your fun with them later."

I glared down at Herry for a moment and then we started moving again.

"Don't worry there's no reason to thank me," Herry informed Campe coldly.

_If you're waiting for gratitude from Campe_, I thought, _you're going to be waiting a long time_.

"You mortals and your feelings," Campe snapped in return. "And where does it get you? Nowhere!"

I was surprised! Campe and I actually agreed on something! Feelings only cause trouble. For example, Herry's feeling that I should stop tormenting that scorpion would get him a serious beating sometime in the near future.

"You know we may not like each other, but we are on the same side," Herry pointed out.

_Like that makes any difference_, I thought, _I'm on the same side as Cronus, but you don't see him bending over backward to do me any favors! Being on the same side doesn't mean anything_.

"Is my enemy's enemy my friend or my enemy?" Campe asked.

_What does that mean_? I wondered.

"That a trick question?" Herry asked.

_I guess he doesn't know what it means either_, I decided.

Campe stopped abruptly.

"Oh, what now?" Cronus sighed, clearly fed up with the constant delays.

"Last chance. Surrender Cronus," Campe answered.

"Or what?" the impatient and obviously unimpressed god demanded.

Suddenly, Campe yanked on the length of chain Cronus was using to pull her along and used it to slam Cronus into me and my brothers knocking all of us to the ground.

"Fight, your friends are here!" Campe called to Herry.

"We tried that bluff, remember?" Herry reminded her. "It didn't work."

_Yeah_, I thought, _so either Campe's memory is going_, _she's desperate or_…

"Herry," called an all too familiar voice.

_Oh no_, I groaned inwardly, _not again_!

I looked up and sure enough there, soaring on hang gliders were the remaining six heroes.

"This is for Herry," called another familiar voice.

"Granny," Herry called back.

"Impossible!" Cronus growled.

_With these kids_, _there's no such thing_, I thought.

"Destroy them!" Cronus shouted as the six heroes touched down. "Now!"

For a moment, I wasn't sure whom to attack. There were the seven heroes, Campe and strangest of all Herry's grandmother…astride the eagle! I had no idea how she'd managed to avoid being torn apart, let alone how she'd apparently tamed the giant bird, but somehow she'd done both.

I didn't have time to think about it, however, as chaos was erupting all around me. Everywhere I looked, my brothers were fighting one hero or another. Then I saw Odie working on unlocking Campe's chains. I decided to put a stop to it.

"What do you think you're doing?" I heard Campe demanding of the boy.

"Bustin' you loose," he answered.

"Thank you," Campe replied, the words leaving her mouth with great reluctance.

I got to them just in time for a newly freed Campe to punch me in the face. I slammed into a rocky protrusion behind me and remained there for a few seconds too dazed to move.

I climbed to my feet quickly, however, when I heard Herry ask, "Who's first?"

I wanted to be first. I wanted to pound him into the ground for his little stunt with that stone. Before I could get close, though, something lifted me into the air. I felt the eagle's razor sharp talons digging into my shoulders. I was airborne for only a short while, however, before the massive bird dropped me unceremoniously on top of Gration.

We quickly untangled ourselves and hurried after Alcyoneus and Clytius. I wasn't sure where Eurytos was. Then there was Cronus. He seemed to have disappeared and it wouldn't have surprised me to learn he'd taken off through a portal. He cared more about saving his own skin than he did about us.

"Where's Cronus?" Alcyoneus asked when I caught up to him.

"Gone," I answered shortly.

"How are we supposed to get back?" Clytius queried.

"I have no idea," I responded. "I suppose we'll have to see if Cronus comes back for us."

"Does anyone know what happened to Eurytos?" Gration asked.

"Most likely he was captured," I answered.

"Great," Alcyoneus snapped. "First we lose Porphyrion and Enceladus, then, we lose Ephialtes, then Thoon and now Eurytos. If we keep losing brothers at this rate pretty soon there won't be any of us left!"

"Cronus wouldn't allow that to happen," I said.

My brothers stared at me in shock.

"If he lost all of us he'd have to start doing his own dirty work," I explained hastily.

My brothers all grumbled their agreement.

"I mean he rarely confronts the heroes directly," I continued. "He leaves all that to us. In fact most of the time he takes off as soon as things get tough."

"Are you suggesting Cronus is a coward?" Clytius asked.

"I don't know," I answered after a moment's pause. "I guess maybe I am. I mean think about it," I continued in a rush, "Cronus is a god. He has powers we'd never dream of possessing, so why doesn't he use them? He could obliterate the heroes in an instant, but instead he runs away, why? It doesn't make any sense."

"You'd better not let Cronus catch you saying things like that," Alcyoneus said.

I knew he was right. If Cronus even suspected I was thinking such rebellious thoughts my life would be over before I could blink, but that didn't stop me from wondering, why, if Cronus was so powerful didn't he use that power to take care of the heroes? They were virtually the only thing standing in the way of our conquest of the world, so why not wipe them out as easily as he had destroyed Thoon. I knew I would never know the answer. Cronus would never confide in someone he considered inferior.

I could only take small satisfaction in the knowledge that for a brief moment we'd held Campe prisoner. Too bad, it wasn't enough to change what had become the inevitable outcome of our battles with the heroes.

**A/N: Questions, comments I want to hear from you so please review.**


	8. Chapter 7: The Winds

**A/N: Well, here's a new chapter for my few loyal fans to enjoy. I hope you like it.**

Chapter 7  
The Winds

Cronus had disappeared! Days had passed without any sign of him and my brothers and I had no idea what to do.

"Where do you think he went?" Gration asked me for the thousandth time.

"I already told you I don't know!" I snapped back.

"Could he have been captured?" Mimas wondered.

"It's possible," I conceded, "but there's no way to be sure."

"What about the scrying pool?" Alcyoneus suggested.

"I tried that," I answered, "but I didn't learn anything helpful."

That was an understatement. Since we used the pool primarily to track the heroes' movements it was set to follow them around, not to track Cronus and without Cronus around I wasn't about to stage an attack on our enemies.

"What should we do?" Clytius questioned.

I looked at my five remaining brothers and sighed. "I have no idea."

I couldn't come up with a single remotely plausible explanation for Cronus' prolonged absence and I had no idea what to do about it either. It didn't make any sense. Where could he have gone and why had he been gone for nearly a week without contacting us? He had never done anything like this before. The only thing I could do was wait and hope that he showed up soon. If not, my brothers and I would have to figure out our next move on our own. Assuming we didn't end up back in Tartarus, of course. If the heroes had captured Cronus then I reasoned it would be only a matter of time before they found us. We would give Cronus a few more days to return and then we'd decide what to do.

I was about to explain all this to my brothers, when much to my relief Cronus appeared through a portal. I wasn't glad to see Cronus, exactly, but I was glad that I wouldn't have to come up with a plan of action in his absence.

I took in Cronus' appearance. He looked relaxed and very pleased with himself.

_Where have you been_? I wanted to shout. _What were you doing and why in blazes didn't you contact us_?

"Ah, Agnon," he said. "I have a new plan for destroying those meddlesome heroes and this time I cannot fail."

_I've heard that before_, I thought. _Why should this time be different from all the others_?

"Gather around," Cronus commanded, "and listen carefully."

My brothers and I moved closer to Cronus and gave him our full attention as he outlined his plan. By the time he finished I was extremely dubious about it. Part of my uncertainty arose from its extremely complex nature. I felt there were too many variables to be taken into account, and therefore too many chances for things to go wrong.

First, Cronus planned to wrest control of the winds from Aeolus. I was sure this would not be easy. In fact, given that Aeolus could turn the winds against us I was certain it would be next to impossible. In addition, I really didn't understand what use controlling the winds would be in the destruction of the heroes.

Then, Cronus announced that he'd been visiting the sea nymph Calypso, which solved the mystery of where he had been all this time. Apparently, he was planning to shipwreck some of the heroes on her island including Odie, and had asked her to keep them there.

If anything, the second part of the plan sounded even more impossible than the first. I had no idea how Cronus intended to arrange to shipwreck any of the heroes on Ogygia much less ensure that Odie was one of them. Ah! Now that was something I understood. I remembered hearing something about a shipwreck leaving Odysseus stranded there years ago and Calypso not wanting him to leave. Taking that into account it wasn't a huge leap to suppose she'd have a similar hang up with his descendant.

I was beginning to wonder if Cronus had thought this through. It seemed to me that he was leaving too much to chance. There was no way he could possibly do this. It wasn't as though he could predict the heroes' movements and he would have to in order from this new scheme to work.

_No_, I decided, _there is no way this is going to happen_.

* * *

The next day Cronus told Alcyoneus and I to accompany him. I wondered where we were going and why. I soon found out.

Cronus opened a portal that deposited us on the island of Aeolia home of Aeolus, King of the Winds. I glanced around surreptitiously as we headed for the throne room and wondered how long it would be before Aeolus conjured up a wind to send us hurtling through the air.

We entered the throne room and found Aeolus sitting there, as though he was expecting us.

"Aeolus," Cronus said in a falsely cheerful voice, "how good to see you."

"Cronus," Aeolus responded in a voice laden with contempt, "what do you want here?"

"Oh nothing much," Cronus replied casually, "I just thought I'd drop by and borrow the use of your winds."

"Really and what makes you think I'll loan them to you?" Aeolus asked.

"Why my dear Aeolus, whoever said you had a choice?"

Cronus gestured to Alcyoneus and I and the two of us marched forward and grabbed Aeolus by the arms. I tensed slightly expecting a violent wind to spring up at any moment, but to my surprise, nothing happened. I couldn't figure out why, if Aeolus controlled the winds, he didn't summon one up to blow us away.

"Now," Cronus said all cheerfulness gone from his voice, "you will tell me how to command the winds."

The look of defiance in Aeolus' eyes made it clear that it would be no easy matter to get that information from him. That's what I thought at least, and I soon learned I was right. It took considerable time and effort to get Aeolus to divulge the information Cronus sought. At last, however, Cronus prevailed upon him to relinquish it.

"You must stand on my monogram outside," he said, "and you must remember to call the wind by its Greek name, Aeras."

Cronus smiled with satisfaction.

"Thank you for being so reasonable, Aeolus," he said. Then, turning to Alcyoneus and me he added, "You may dispose of him now I have no further use for him."

Ignoring Aeolus' protests Alcyoneus and I carried him outside. His palace sat atop a mountain, so we simply tossed him over the side. We knew he wouldn't die because he was immortal, but from the bottom of a cliff, he would be unable to cause trouble.

_Well_, I thought, _that's one aspect of Cronus' plan taken care of, but how will he pull off the rest of it_?

Once we had suitably dealt with Aeolus, Cronus used his magic to conjure up an image of the heroes. Much to my amazement the scene, which appeared before us showed three of the heroes out sailing, Jay, Neil and…Odie!

_Ah_, I thought. _Now it all makes sense. Cronus must have found out they were planning this expedition and decided to take advantage of it_.

Smiling with unconcealed delight at seeing his plan playing out so perfectly, Cronus strode out onto the balcony and summoned up a powerful wind, the effect on the heroes' boat was immediate. Soon the wind drove it farther and farther out to sea and when the heroes attempted to strike the sail, Cronus conjured up a gust so strong it capsized their tiny craft.

As we watched, Neil and Jay pulled themselves onto the overturned vessel while the wind-driven waves pushed Odie away.

I could scarcely believe how perfectly things were going. Even if Odie didn't end up on Calypso's island he would certainly drown, which would serve Cronus' purposes just as well. Of course, there was still the matter of Herry, Atlanta, Archie and Theresa to deal with and we would have to take care of Jay and Neil as well, but I was feeling considerably more confident about this plan.

Cronus came back inside and with a gesture changed the scene before us to show the remaining four heroes. They were on the beach playing a game and it appeared that Herry and Theresa were winning. Evidently, that didn't please Archie. He pulled one of the walkie-talkies the heroes always seemed to carry from his pocket and tried to get in touch with Jay. His voice came through to us loud and clear.

"Jay, it's Archie, we have a volleyball emergency, here," he said. "If I don't get a new partner I'm toast. Things are looking pretty grim. Can you come to my rescue?"

Archie paused, obviously waiting for Jay to reply. I turned to see what Cronus thought of all this. He was smiling nastily and I felt a momentary twinge of pity for the heroes.

When Archie didn't receive a reply, he began to sound worried.

"Jay?" he said. "I'm getting a lot of static are you guys all right?"

Archie got a response this time, but it wasn't from Jay. What he got instead was Cronus doing a near perfect imitation. His voice came through heavily distorted by static,

"Freak storm…island…need help…help," he said.

"Jay? Jay is that you?" Theresa asked clearly even more concerned than Archie. "Come in Jay."

This time there was no answer and when I turned to look at Cronus again, he had a look of smug satisfaction on his face. He returned the scene to Jay and Neil just long enough to see that both they and Odie had made it to Calypso's island then banished it with a wave of his hand and rose to his feet.

"Now we just have to wait for those fools to come looking for their friends," he said.

* * *

I wondered how we were going to pass the time while we waited for our unfortunate victims. I had no desire to spend hours standing around waiting for them. Fortunately, Cronus seemed to have no desire to sit around and wait either, so we wandered around Aeolus' palace. I had no idea if Cronus was looking for something in particular, but I suspected he already had everything of value.

At the end of our wanderings, we reached the balcony where Aeolus' monogram rested.

"Well Aeolus this old palace of yours is rather drafty," Cronus commented as we stepped out onto the balcony, "but I suppose that's befitting the King of the Winds."

I agreed with Cronus. All the rooms we'd entered were huge and almost bare of decorations or furnishings. It was almost as though Aeolus had constructed his palace solely for channelling the winds and for all I knew that might indeed be its only purpose.

"By controlling your winds," Cronus continued walking to the edge of the balcony, "I can destroy those little nuisances without getting near them."

_Ah_, I thought, _now I understand_. _Cronus is tired of losing to the heroes and he thinks fighting them from a safe distance will give him a greater chance at victory_.

There were other advantages too, such as the heroes not being able to fight the wind. After all, how do you fight moving air?

"Ah and here come four of them now," Cronus exclaimed happily, "dashing to rescue their shipwrecked friends touching."

He turned from the railing and headed for Aeolus' monogram.

"I'll just send a little west wind to greet them," he decided.

Standing on the monogram, he called in a loud voice, "Aeras! West!"

All at once, a terrific wind came rushing down over the top of the palace, heading for the heroes. Alcyoneus and I each grabbed hold of a tree that was growing at the entrance to the balcony so the wind wouldn't blow us away. Dark clouds covered the sky and before long, a hurricane was in full swing.

_This is a _little _west wind_, I thought.

From our position high above the turbulent ocean, we had an excellent view of the heroes fighting the wind and waves. From what I could see, they stood no chance of making it to Aeolus' island, which was the only land for miles. The huge waves would certainly swamp or smash their tiny craft in minutes.

Then something completely unexpected happened.

One minute Cronus was watching the heroes' craft foundering far below and the next, his focus shifted to a point slightly to the right on the edge of the storm. I turned to see what had caught his attention and was shocked to see a sailboat heading into the storm.

_Whoever's helming that thing must have a death wish_, I thought. _Only a lunatic would steer a sailboat into a storm like this_!

"What's this?" Cronus asked. "Jay you appear to have escaped Calypso's island, how clever of you." Several stone figures lined the balcony railing. Cronus selected one and smiling added, "Since you crashed my party I hope you won't mind if I invite Scylla."

The moment Cronus touched the statue it came to life. He dropped the now living, creature into the water where it grew into an enormous monster.

"Bon appetite, my friend," Cronus called.

Engrossed as I was in the spectacle before me I never noticed or even thought someone might attempt to climb the steep cliff on the right side of the island. Suddenly,

"Yoo-hoo," called an unpleasantly familiar voice.

I turned and to my great surprise saw Neil. At the sight of him, several thoughts began running through my mind. How did he get here? What's he up to? Did he climb all the way up that cliff? Then I realized that none of that mattered. All that mattered was preventing the boy from causing trouble for Cronus. We were too close to victory to take any chances.

Growling I started toward Neil with Alcyoneus close behind.

"Ahhh!" he shouted and started running away as fast as he could.

Alcyoneus and I chased after him without once stopping to wonder why he'd want to get our attention and then run screaming in the other direction. We had almost caught him when the wind picked up again. Only this time it blew toward us instead of away.

_What's going on_? I wondered. _Is Cronus recalling the wind_? _Have the other heroes been defeated_?

That was all I had time to wonder before a tree slammed into Alcyoneus and me sending us hurtling over the edge of the balcony and into the water far below.

"Serves you right," Aeolus called to us as we drifted away clinging to the tree for dear life.

I wondered how long it would be before Cronus retrieved us, knowing even as I did that he would not be pleased. His plan like us was gone with the wind.

**A/N: I hope you enjoyed reading this and will be kind enough to review. If you want to read more about Agnon and his brothers then check out Chapter 40 of my drabble series Random Ramblings.**


	9. Chapter 8: Army Ants

**A/N: A round of applause to HoneyGoddess57 and Toymaker for being considerate enough to review the last chapter, here, for your reading pleasure, is Chapter 8. I hope you enjoy it as much as you enjoyed the last one.**

Chapter 8  
Army Ants

_This has to be the strangest plan Cronus has ever come up with_, I thought as I grabbed yet another soldier. _Where did he get the idea to turn men into ants and for that matter why would he want to_? _What useful purpose could they possibly serve_?

I knew I'd never get an answer to my questions. Cronus hadn't been particularly forthcoming with the details of his most recent scheme. All I knew was that he'd acquired a greave that turned men into ants and collars he could use to control them. From the little information Cronus had given us I gathered that the greave had belonged to Zeus. The collars, however, remained a mystery. I could only assume Cronus had forced someone to make them.

He'd dragged Alcyoneus, Mimas and I to a military installation built above an old mine. Since our arrival, we'd been using portals to capture each of the soldiers stationed there. Once we had them, we brought them to a room in the abandoned mine, were we secured them to a table and fitted them with a collar. Then Cronus showed up and used the greave to transform them into ants. This same greave also allowed him to control the ants via the collars they were given. The base had held hundreds of soldiers and it had taken weeks of systematic effort to round them all up. Now we were almost finished. Only one soldier remained.

When Mimas and I came to collect him, he was sitting in a jeep, attempting to contact the outside world. It was a futile gesture. Cronus had made certain that no communications could get out. After all, we wouldn't want the heroes to discover what we were doing. I lifted the vehicle our quarry was sitting in and he immediately panicked.

"Mayday! Mayday! I got big trouble!" he shouted desperately into the jeep's two-way radio.

When there was no response, he dove from the vehicle and tried to run away. Before he'd gotten two steps, Mimas grabbed him by the arm and the three of us went back through the portal. It was time to find out what Cronus planned to do next.

* * *

Mimas and I secured our last captive and fitted him with a control collar. Then Mimas left to get Cronus, while I remained to ensure our captive didn't get away. The possibility an escape was remote, but I preferred not to take chances.

"Help! Help!" the soldier yelled.

_What's the point of all this yelling_? I wondered. _We've already captured all your comrades in arms, so it's not as if anyone's going to hear you_.

I would have addressed my question directly to him, but since I don't speak English, he wouldn't have understood me.

"Courage soldier," Cronus commanded as he entered the room, "you're in my army now. You'll be fighting for the noblest cause of all, revenge, against my dear son Zeus for thousands of years of incarceration."

"Johnson, David, Corporal. Serial number 921…" the man started.

All the soldiers had spouted much the same information the moment Cronus showed up, so I was only half listening. I had focused most of my attention on the greave, which Cronus had given me for safekeeping.

"This is not an interrogation," Cronus laughed. "It's a transformation."

He held out his hand for the greave, but I didn't notice. I was busy wondering if it would fit around my wrist.

"Hand it over you fool!" Cronus snapped impatiently.

Startled from my contemplations I handed Cronus the greave without really registering what he'd said.

After fitting the greave around his own wrist Cronus touched the soldier on the shoulder and a moment later, he'd transformed into an art just like all the others. The new ant clicked its mandibles threateningly, clearly unhappy with its present situation.

"Uh-uh-uh," Cronus admonished wagging a finger at his newest recruit. Pushing a button on the greave, he began issuing commands. "Right turn, forward march, halt."

Cronus chuckled with satisfaction as the ant obediently followed each command.

"Yes, well done," he commended.

He walked over to the ant and placed a hand on its head.

"Patience my warrior," he said, "you'll help me flush Zeus out into the open and the second Titan War will begin."

We took the newest ant to the cavern where all the others were waiting.

"Over there," Cronus directed, "time to join the ranks."

When the last ant had lined up with the others Cronus raised his arms and in a loud voice proclaimed, "Let the invasion begin!"

While all this was going on, I was trying to figure out what had happened to Mimas. The last time I'd seen him, he'd been on his way to get Cronus and now he had apparently disappeared. I scanned the cavern where Cronus had been keeping the ants and that's when I saw him.

Cronus was able to keep control of the ants most of the time, but when he wasn't physically present they could occasionally get out of hand. Usually, he was nearby ready to get the ants back under his control, but not this time. This time he'd been too busy transforming the last solider into an ant and Mimas had paid the price.

The ants had killed him. His remains were in such a state that I was unable to determine exactly how he had died, but the exact nature of his death didn't matter. I had lost another brother. Now there were only five of us left to confront the heroes. I left Mimas' remains where they were. This cavern would be his tomb.

Of course, Cronus never noticed.

* * *

The biggest problem with having so many ants was keeping them hidden, so the fact that one of them escaped and made its way to the surface wasn't surprising. What was surprising, however, was Cronus' reaction. I expected him to be furious with Alcyoneus and me for allowing one of the ants to get loose. Instead, he took the whole affair in stride, seeing it as an opportunity to get the heroes to come to us.

"Once they realize what they're up against they'll almost certainly contact Zeus," Cronus declared, "and when they do victory will at last be mine."

I was far less optimistic. It seemed every time we thought we were going to win, something happened to foil Cronus' plans. I felt it was better to be cautious than to celebrate another premature victory.

By the time the heroes showed up, as we'd known they would, Cronus was ready for them. We had already retrieved the rogue ant, though not before it had caused considerable damage to the base. Then Cronus chose a single ant and sent it toward the surface. It would lead the heroes to a cavern beneath the base where the other ants would be waiting to ambush them.

The ant was not long in returning with the heroes following close behind. Once they entered the other ants moved to attack. Cronus, Alcyoneus and I watched from a catwalk, while the heroes fought the ants below us.

Cronus had disabled the lighting, so the only illumination came from glow sticks the heroes had brought with them. The lack of light made it difficult to see how well the heroes were faring against the ants, but it was only a matter of time before they were overwhelmed.

Suddenly, I noticed that one of the ants had Theresa in its mandibles.

_Finish her off_, I thought. _Crush her_.

Abruptly, Theresa brought her nunchucks down on the ant's head so hard it dropped her.

"Don't kill the ants they're people!" she shouted.

_How does she know that_? I wondered.

"What?" Jay exclaimed in shock. "Everybody fall back!"

"You've gotta be kidding me!" Archie snapped.

The ants cornered Jay, Herry, Archie, Atlanta, and Theresa at which point Cronus stopped them, so he could take the opportunity to gloat.

"What the…" Atlanta started as the lights came on and Cronus began to laugh.

"Lost your appetite for fighting have you?" he mocked. "Not like my soldiers."

"They're not your soldiers Cronus," Theresa shot back.

"Theresa, my dear, you'll find they're very much under my command when we march on New Olympia and destroy it," Cronus retorted.

"Release them!" Jay demanded.

"No Jay I have an idea," Cronus retorted. "Why don't you call on the all-powerful Zeus for help? He has a soft spot for humans."

"Zeus?" Archie repeated sounding puzzled.

Cronus was no longer listening. Having decided that he'd wasted enough time with idle chitchat he sent the ants into battle once more.

"Attack!" he commanded.

The ants surged forward once more and it wasn't long before the heroes realized they were in trouble.

"There's too many," Jay decided, "we have to retreat. Herry clear us a path."

"No problem," Herry answered immediately using his tremendous strength to heave the ants out of the way.

"That's it run away, run to Zeus," Cronus called after them.

Thinking he meant us, Alcyoneus and I jumped down and headed after the heroes.

"Not you!" Cronus bellowed. "Them!"

He came to join us and we'd nearly reached the entrance when Cronus noticed something set up by the door.

"What's this?" he asked stopping to examine it.

His tone changed to one of alarm as he realized what he was looking at.

"NO!" he exclaimed.

He opened a portal and the three of us barely made it through before a terrific explosion ripped through the place. The explosion flung us violently from the portal onto the ground outside. We landed in a heap with Cronus on the bottom.

"Blast!" he exclaimed pounding the ground with his fists in frustration.

We climbed to our feet, our bodies aching with the force of the impact and headed back inside. We entered the base and discovered that the heroes were gone and a wall of rock was blocking the mine entrance. Cronus immediately set Alcyoneus and me to digging them out.

"Faster you idiots!" he yelled. "Dig out my warriors before those troublesome heroes return!"

_You could try helping us instead of just standing there_, I thought exasperatedly.

Fortunately, the ants had apparently been digging themselves out from the other side. Alcyoneus and I removed a few more boulders and then stood back as they came surging forward.

"Ah my tenacious troops," Cronus sighed with satisfaction.

* * *

Now that the ants were free, Cronus decided he no longer required Alcyoneus' or my help so he opened a portal and sent us back to our hideaway.

I decided that I would watch the conclusion of this plan on the scrying pool, so as soon as we arrived I headed straight for it.

When I got there the first thing I saw was Herry's truck pulling to a stop in front of the ants.

"So Zeus continues to rely on his brave young mortals," Cronus commented. "After them!"

The truck sped off with the ants in close pursuit. It crossed a bridge with the ants trailing by seconds, but strangely, someone raised the bridge when it reached the other side. The ants had the heroes trapped with no means of escape. The ants surrounded the truck, but no heroes emerged to do battle with them.

_What's going on_? I wondered. _Why would they deliberately cut themselves off_? _Why would they allow the ants to surround them_?

Something about this definitely didn't add up, but Cronus didn't seem to think anything was amiss.

"How serendipitous," Cronus sighed. "Then again I've always had excellent timing."

He watched from his position on the far side of the bridge for a moment then,

"Something's wrong."

_Of course, something's wrong_, I thought. _If everything were right the heroes wouldn't be sitting in that truck, they'd be fighting the ants_.

Cronus opened a portal and transported himself to the far side of the bridge. He opened the back door of the truck, but instead of finding the heroes sitting inside, he found only figures dressed in the heroes' clothes.

"What?" Cronus gasped.

Then the truck started moving away, apparently by itself.

"No!" Cronus exclaimed.

On the far side of the bridge Jay, Theresa, Archie, Atlanta and Herry waved and called out, laughing and mocking Cronus. Herry continued manipulating the truck with a remote control. He backed the truck up a bit further then sent it racing forward…directly at Cronus! Cronus barely managed to jump out of the way.

"Attack!" he commanded the ants.

The ants walked to the edge of the river and paused.

"Obey me! Obey me!" Cronus ordered continually pushing the button on the greave.

Some of the ants began to form a bridge, using their bodies. Judging by the heroes' reactions this wasn't part of their plan. Obviously, they'd expected the ants to remain trapped on the other side of the river, never dreaming they'd form their own bridge.

_Why didn't they get Zeus to help them_? I wondered. _Surely, he could easily deal with a few ants_.

"So what's the plan?" Archie asked turning to Jay.

"Hold them back till Odie gets here," Jay answered.

"And if he can't stop them?" Atlanta asked.

"Let's cross that bridge when we get to it," Jay replied.

Atlanta opened fire with her crossbow, driving back the two ants that had crossed the newly constructed ant bridge. At first, this seemed to work, but then one of the ants reared up and then came crashing down in front of Atlanta knocking her down. Herry immediately rushed forward and heaved the ant back onto the bridge. The overturned ant brought a momentary halt to the other ants' progress.

While all this was going on, I was puzzling over Jay's earlier remark. _Hold them back till Odie gets here_, he'd said, but what good would that do? What possible use could a pipsqueak like Odie be in a fight against giant ants? It didn't make any sense to me, but then many things weren't making sense to me right now. I decided I would just have to wait and see what happened.

A few moments later, Odie and Neil arrived, accompanied by one of the ants.

_When did they get hold of an ant_? I wondered.

Odie pointed something at the ants that were slowing advancing on the heroes. He pushed a button and for a moment, the ants paused. The next moment, however, they were on the move again.

"Right idea, wrong frequency," Odie said hurriedly, scrambling to adjust his device.

"Hurry Odie!" Jay shouted as the ants drew steadily nearer.

"Where are you Zeus? Come save your heroes," Cronus called.

Suddenly the ants stopped. Shaking their heads as though confused they all came to an abrupt halt.

"Attack I command you!" Cronus shouted, frantically pushing the button on the greave.

Nothing happened.

"All right, let's go," Jay ordered.

He raced across the bridge of ants, followed closely by Herry, Atlanta, Theresa, and Archie.

Cronus continued to push the button on the greave, but the ants still didn't move. For a moment, this incident reminded me of the time Cronus sent my brothers and me to retrieve Hermes' Herald's Staff from the heroes. Cronus' increasingly desperate attempts to regain control of the ants were strikingly similar to Odie's futile efforts to control my brothers and me. Even Cronus' frantic look mirrored the one I'd seen on Odie's face that day.

"Gah it's useless!" he exclaimed tossing the greave to the ground.

By now, the heroes had reached Cronus.

"It's over Cronus, surrender," Jay directed.

Cronus only laughed, opened a portal and walked through it.

"Hah, as usual when the going gets tough…" Archie started.

"…Cronus gets going," Atlanta finished.

"You've got that right," I muttered.

"Excuse me?" a terrifyingly familiar voice asked from behind me.

I turned slowly around and to my everlasting horror discovered Cronus standing right behind me. Any explanation I might have offered died unspoken under the withering glare he fired in my direction.

_I am in big trouble_, I thought as Cronus drew closer. _There is no way I can talk my way out of this mess_.

"I'll deal with you later," Cronus snapped, "now get out!"

I moved as fast as possible, anxious to get out of Cronus' sight before I infuriated him further. I could only hope he'd get so busy thinking up a new plan he'd forget about what I'd said.

I was almost positive he wouldn't.

**A/N: Please review. Please, please, please. I need to know if people are reading this and I want some honest feedback. I plan to finish this story no matter what, but I'll get it done a lot faster if I know people are reading and enjoying it. I also have plans for a possible sequel if it does well, so tell me what you think.**

**Once again, I have written the death of a giant into this chapter. In this case, the giant is Mimas, the one who's bottom half resembles a polar bear. Since this is his last appearance, I felt it was appropriate. Although, I find it odd that he disappears completely within the first few minutes of the episode this chapter is based on and is apparently replaced by the big red giant I've dubbed Alcyoneus.**


	10. Chapter 9: Honest Answers

**A/N: Writing this chapter was fiendishly difficult. A couple of times, I nearly gave it up as impossible, but I finally found an approach that I think works. Enjoy!**

Chapter 9  
Honest Answers

_This is insane_, I thought as Alcyoneus and I chipped away at the solid stone in front of us. _Releasing the Typhoeus was one thing, at least Cronus could control that monster, but this is just crazy_.

I could not imagine what had possessed Cronus to try sending Stymphalian birds after our teenage foes. The large metal birds were incredibly dangerous. I had never encountered them myself, but I had heard whispered accounts in Tartarus of what happened to those unfortunate enough to cross their path and that was enough to tell me that I never wanted to be one of them.

_Besides_, I mused, _what makes Cronus think they'll go after the heroes? For all he knows they'll just attack us instead. How does he plan to control them_?

I hoped he didn't expect us to go after Hermes' Herald's Staff again. I had no desire for a repeat performance of that disaster. It didn't seem likely though. If Cronus wanted the staff, he would have sent us to retrieve it before releasing the birds, but if he wasn't planning on using the staff, then what did he have in mind. Whatever it was I hoped it worked.

"Move faster, you idiots!" Cronus barked, pulling me from my contemplation.

_You could help us instead of yelling_, I thought. _You blasted away the rock face concealing the Typhoeus why can't you do the same with this_.

I knew I wouldn't get an answer even if I voiced my thoughts aloud, which I wasn't stupid enough to do. It was frustratingly slow going though, so I did wish Cronus would take a more active role, even if it were incredibly unlikely.

Suddenly, the rock in front of me gave way, sending me plunging into the abyss below. Fortunately, I landed in a pool of water not on hard stone. Moments later, Alcyoneus landed beside me.

The two of us eyed our surroundings nervously. Puddles of water, like the one I had landed in, dotted the ground and there were giant trees with mushroom-shaped canopies everywhere. An eerie blue glow that came from the trees lit the cavern.

A strange screeching cry abruptly tore through the air. It had an odd almost metallic quality. Alcyoneus and I glanced around apprehensively trying to determine where the cries were coming from. We knew what had made them, so we wanted to keep our distance.

We climbed out of the water and kept an uncertain watch on the area around us. A few moments later, Cronus stepped out of a portal. He gave us a cursory glance before turning his attention to a dark shape in a nearby tree.

"Excellent," he declared. "Those kids won't know what hit them."

The shape in the tree screeched again and then spread its wings. Cronus chuckled as the Stymphalian bird flew over our heads and I turned to watch as it disappeared through the hole Alcyoneus and I had made. A few minutes later, a second bird joined the first. Obviously, Cronus had some means of controlling them for which I was exceedingly grateful.

I wondered how long it would take the birds to locate the heroes and what would happen when they did. Would they tear them apart immediately or bring them back to their nest first? I could hardly wait to find out.

Cronus opened a portal and the three of us returned to our hideaway. However, after depositing Alcyoneus and me there he took off again immediately. It seemed he wanted to watch his handiwork up close, possibly to keep anything from going wrong. Normally, I would have watched events unfold on the scrying pool, but ever since I'd made an unfortunate comment about Cronus' courage or rather his lack of it he had banned my brothers and I from it without his permission. I didn't dare disobey him, so I would have to wait for him to return to find out what was happening.

As soon as Cronus left, Agrios, Clytius, and Gration came over to find out what had happened.

"Well?" Gration asked when I didn't immediately start volunteering information.

"Well what?" I fired back.

"What happened?" he exploded in frustration. "Did you see the Stymphalian birds? Did Cronus release them?"

I glanced over at Alcyoneus to see if he wanted to answer these questions, but he just shrugged.

"I saw the birds," I began, "and yes Cronus released them. They're big and powerful with razor sharp talons and beaks."

"Do you think they'll defeat the heroes?" Gration asked eagerly. "Do we have a chance of winning this time?"

My brothers clustered around me, anxiously awaiting my answer.

I stood for a moment, trying to decide what to say. _Should I be honest or lie_? I wondered. I decided to try honesty.

"No," I stated flatly.

"Why not?" Agrios demanded.

"We never win," I replied. "Think about it. How many times has Cronus sent us to fight the heroes or sent someone or something else to fight them? Out of all those confrontations when have we ever emerged victorious?"

My brothers stared at me, stunned. I knew they weren't expecting that answer, but at least I was finally being honest…with them and with myself and now that I'd started I suddenly found I couldn't stop.

"The truth is we never had a chance," I continued. "We've been unprepared from the very beginning. We thought we'd be facing ordinary humans, then, we discover our foes have extraordinary abilities. The gods whisk them away and give them, weapons and training. What do we have? A homicidal maniac, who's never given us any training, let alone weapons, who rarely confronts our enemies and when he does runs away the moment things go against him!"

I paused for a moment to catch my breath before plowing on. I knew my sudden outburst had confused my brothers, but I had to get all this off my chest while I had a chance.

"Look at us!" I shouted. "We've been fighting the heroes for nearly a year and where has it gotten us? We skulk underground afraid to show our faces for fear we'll be dragged back to Tartarus! We lead insufferable lives as virtual slaves to a megalomaniacal god who'll never be satisfied until he has the whole world bowing down before him!"

"But the Stymphalian birds…" Clytius began.

"The birds are powerful and impressive," I interrupted, "but so were a lot of the other creatures Cronus used against the heroes like Cerberus, all those Minotaurs he had created, Scylla, the Kraken, Talos, those soldiers he turned into giant ants, even that Chimera, especially, the Chimera. We were all convinced that it killed Jay, but somehow his friends managed to save him. If none of those monsters managed to defeat the heroes, why should the Stymphalian birds fare any better?"

"I think Agnon has a point," Alcyoneus put in suddenly.

"What?" I gasped. I wasn't expecting any of my brothers to agree with me, just put up with my ranting about our intolerable existence until they got bored and left.

"I think you're right," Alcyoneus replied. "We do have an unendurable life. We've seen Cronus send countless creatures against the heroes only to have them all fail miserably and there is absolutely no reason to expect these overgrown metal monstrosities to fare any better. If we've learned anything from our encounters with the heroes it's that they always mange to win, even when the odds seem hopelessly stacked against them."

I stared at Alcyoneus too stunned to reply.

"I also think you're right about Cronus," Alcyoneus continued. "He is a maniac, he won't be satisfied with anything less than world domination and he doesn't care who he steps on to get it…including us."

"I thought Agnon said Cronus wouldn't allow all of us to be destroyed or captured," Gration protested, "because then he'd have to do his own dirty work."

"I did think that once," I responded, "but I've changed my mind. Cronus stood by while the Typhoeus devoured Porphyrion and while Enceladus drowned. He disappeared and allowed Campe to take Eurytos back to Tartarus. He killed Thoon and did nothing to prevent his army of ants from tearing Mimas apart. I don't think he even noticed Ephialtes is gone. He doesn't care about any of us. He's a coward, and if he has to choose between helping us and saving himself, he'll save his own skin every time."

"He doesn't even know most of our names," Agrios grumbled, "just yours."

"That's also true," I conceded.

"He's always blaming us, even when something's his fault," Gration added. "Sometimes even for things that happened when we weren't around."

"Right," I said.

I had a sudden feeling of pleasure. I hadn't expected my furious rant to turn into a full-blown discussion, and it felt good to know I wasn't alone in my feelings.

"What can we do about it?" Clytius suddenly asked, taking us all by surprise.

I stared at him for a moment, unsure how to answer. Nothing had prepared me for the direction our conversation had taken and I'd certainly never expected one of my brothers to voice a question like this, but I felt he deserved an answer…an honest answer.

"Nothing," I replied softly.

My brothers all turned to look at me.

"We can't fight Cronus," I continued. "We all know he's too powerful for any of us to defeat him. We could leave, but where would we go? If Cronus found us, he'd punished us for deserting him and if the heroes found us, they'd send us back to Tartarus. We have nowhere to go, nowhere to hide. We made a bargain with Cronus. We agreed that we would serve him in exchange for our freedom without stopping to realize that we were really exchanging one prison for another and like it or not there's nothing we can do to change that now."

I waited for someone to reply, to dispute my claim and offer up a plan of escape from our dismal fate, but Agrios, Alcyoneus, Clytius, and Gration just stared at me. I could tell by the looks on their faces that they knew I was right. The choices we'd made had trapped us just as surely as if we had remained in Tartarus, and this time there would be no escape.

The silence between us stretched until it became almost unbearable. Finally, Agrios opened one of his mouths to offer a comment. Unfortunately, I never got a chance to hear what he had to say. At that moment, a portal opened and Cronus came hurtling out of it as if all the demons of the Underworld where on his tail.

_What in the world is wrong with him_? I thought as he raced by me.

My brothers and I all turned to face the still-open portal wondering what could have caused Cronus to panic like this. That moment of hesitation cost us dearly. We barely had time to react when two full-grown Stymphalian birds burst into the room. We instantly abandoned all thoughts of brotherly solidarity in our mad scramble to escape their razor sharp talons and beaks.

Suddenly, I heard a bellow of pain. I hesitated for a moment, then, finally turned to see what had happened.

Alcyoneus had tripped on something or been knocked down by the birds who were tearing him to shreds. I wavered for an instant before gathering up a handful of stones and throwing them at the birds. I knew my attack wouldn't do any damage, but I hoped it would distract them long enough for Alcyoneus to escape.

Screeching, the birds abandoned Alcyoneus' prostrate form and turned their attention to me. As they hurtled toward me, I dropped to the ground. They passed harmlessly over my head and straight into the portal Cronus had opened behind me.

I didn't thank him. I knew he had opened the portal to get rid of the birds, not to help me. Instead, I hurried over to Alcyoneus' blood soaked form and was both surprised and relieved to discover that he was still alive. I waved Agrios, Clytius, and Gration over and together we managed to get Alcyoneus to the cavern we used as our quarters.

Many hours, and bandages, later, Alcyoneus was resting as comfortably as could be expected. The birds' talons and beaks had done significant damage, and I knew it would be months before he'd be able to help in any further missions against the heroes, if he ever could.

I still had no idea how Cronus had been careless enough to allow the Stymphalian birds to follow him or why he'd been stupid enough to bring them here. I also knew I would never get an answer to those questions.

That the heroes had triumphed yet again was a forgone conclusion, but I had long since learned to accept such things as inevitable.

My brothers and I never spoke of our shared conversation again. The realization that we had trapped ourselves in a prison far worse in some ways than Tartarus had ever been was not one we cared to discuss again, but I was glad we had talked, however briefly, about the dark path our foolish choices had set us on.

**A/N: Before I wrap things up, there are some points I need to cover. You can skip this if you want.**

**As I mentioned above this chapter was extremely difficult to write and I am well aware that it may not be my best work. However, considering I took one minute of screen time for the giants and spun it into an entire chapter I think I did fairly well. If you have any suggestions for improving this chapter, please leave them in the form of a politely worded review. Constructive criticism is welcome, but nastiness is not.**

**Some of you may feel that the conversation between Agnon and his brothers was out of character. I do not. The truth is none of us knows what's going on in their heads, which was why I decided to write this story in the first place.**

**I am considering writing a sequel to this story. I've been thinking about it for a long time and I think I have some interesting ideas. If I did right a sequel, it would be set after the conclusion of CoTT and my own ideas would form the basis for it.**

**You should also be aware that whether or not I decide to write a sequel to A Giant's Perspective would affect how it ends.**


	11. Chapter 10: Echo

**A/N: After the painful experience I had trying to get the last chapter written, it was an incredible relief to turn my attention to this one. There was so much more material! I really hope you all enjoy it.**

Chapter 10  
Echo

"Agnon, anything to report?" Cronus asked.

I turned away from my contemplation of the scrying pool and unfortunately had to reply in the negative. At Cronus' command, I had watched the scrying pool for hours, waiting for some sign of the heroes. However, the pool remained stubbornly blank.

Cronus growled in annoyance and I hoped he wasn't going to blame me for this failure. It wasn't my fault that there were times when the scrying pool produced no trace of our foes, but that had never prevented Cronus from blaming me before.

"The longer we wait the more chance the prophecy has of coming to pass," Cronus went on, peering into the pool's depths, "and we can't have that now, can we?"

I glanced over my shoulder, nervously hoping the pool would produce the results Cronus desired, but it still revealed nothing. I was becoming increasingly concerned about Cronus' reaction to this lack of information about the heroes' movements. Fortunately, he seemed to take things in stride.

"Divide and conquer that's the key to our victory," he declared. "Now keep watching and call me immediately if an opportunity should present itself."

I nodded and resumed watching the pool for the heroes. Apparently satisfied that I would inform him the moment something happened, Cronus turned and walked away.

He hadn't gone very far, however, when he suddenly shouted, "Agnon, come here, now!"

It was only as I hurried toward him that something suddenly occurred to me. Cronus' voice was so loud when he called, it should have sent echoes rebounding all over the large, high-ceilinged chamber that housed the scrying pool, but it hadn't.

_Something very strange is going on_, I thought.

"Agnon, go and fetch your brothers," Cronus ordered. "I have a new plan and this time we cannot fail."

_Yeah right_, I thought as I went to get Agrios, Clytius, and Gration, _like I haven't heard that before_.

Cronus might be feeling confident, but since his last two plans had failed to produce results, I was slightly more sceptical about our chances. First, he had tried unleashing two Stymphalian birds on the heroes, but that plan had backfired spectacularly when the birds followed him back to our hideout through a portal and attacked us. Alcyoneus was still recovering from injures he'd sustained, which was why I wasn't planning to include him in our latest excursion. I knew he would want a chance at revenge, but there was no way he could fight the heroes in his current condition.

Cronus' scheme to unleash Sybaris on our enemies had also ended in defeat, but mercifully, neither my brothers nor I was involved in that debacle. Only Sybaris had suffered the consequences of her failure.

I just hoped this new plan worked. I was tired of living in underground caverns and waiting to get my promised revenge on the gods. I also wanted vengeance against the heroes perhaps even more than against the gods.

It was because of the heroes that my brothers and I lived a miserable existence blindly obeying Cronus' every command and subject to his every foolish whim. Between the heroes and Cronus, we had suffered more since our escape than we ever had in Tartarus. There were times when I sincerely regretted my decision to follow Cronus, but at the same time, I really believed it was the only decision I could have made under the circumstances. Yes, my life right now was a nightmare, but if we could just defeat the heroes and destroy the gods, I would have my own country to rule as I saw fit and that alone might make this worth it.

As I walked, I couldn't help wondering what Cronus' new plan might be and how he had come up with one so fast. Did it have anything to do with the sudden absence of echoes? I racked my brain, trying to recall what I knew about echoes. I vaguely remembered something about a nymph, but nothing concrete came to mind. I paused for a moment trying to think, but try as I might I couldn't figure out how the absence of echoes and a nymph connected to the heroes. I would have to wait for Cronus to explain his plan. Perhaps something would click then.

* * *

I found Agrios, Clytius, and Gration with Alcyoneus in the cavern that served as our quarters. Not that we spent much time there as a rule, we were usually too busy carrying out Cronus' orders to relax.

"Come on," I said. "Cronus has a new plan and he wants us right now."

"What is it this time?" Clytius grumbled as he climbed to his feet.

"I have no idea," I responded, "but I think it has something to do with echoes."

"How are we going to defeat the heroes with echoes?" Gration demanded dubiously.

"I don't know!" I fired back. "This is Cronus' idea not mine. All I know is he yelled for me in the scrying pool chamber and there weren't any echoes."

"Wait, wasn't Echo some nymph who fell in love with a mortal who ignored her?" Agrios asked.

"That sounds familiar," I admitted, struggling to recall more details, "but I can't remember the whole story. We'll just have to wait for Cronus to tell us his plan."

"What about me?" Alcyoneus asked.

I looked at him for a moment. Bandages still covered the numerous wounds inflicted by the Stymphalian birds' beaks and talons.

"I think you should stay here," I said at last. "You're not really in any shape to deal with the heroes right now."

"Suits me," Alcyoneus responded. "I'm sick of being beaten up by a bunch of kids and then getting screamed at for it afterward."

"Good point," I muttered as I turned to leave with the others. "Oh and by the way, thanks for the vote of confidence." I knew he had a point about our chances of success, but he didn't need to be a jerk about it.

"You're welcome," Alcyoneus responded more cheerfully than I thought was strictly necessary.

* * *

Once the four of us had gathered in the main cavern of our lair, Cronus began to explain his plan.

"Which of you can tell me the story of Echo and Narcissus?" he asked.

At the sound of the name Narcissus, everything finally clicked. I realized that I had heard the story before, in Tartarus of all places.

Sometimes, after lights out, I would lie awake listening to other inmates share stories from the world we had all left behind. One of them was the story of Echo and Narcissus. At the time, I had thought the story was ridiculous, something concocted to keep boredom at bay for a little while longer. Now, I knew it was the truth.

Hesitantly, I raised my hand.

"Yes, Agnon," Cronus said.

"Echo was a mountain nymph who fell in love with a mortal named Narcissus," I began. "Unfortunately for her, he was already in love with himself. She tried everything to get his attention, but nothing worked. Eventually, she pined away until nothing remained but her voice."

"Very good, Agnon," Cronus praised.

I flushed slightly. It was practically the only time I'd heard Cronus say something nice.

"It appears that Echo still exists in some form," Cronus explained, "and having learned nothing from her failure with Narcissus has set her sights on his equally foolish descendant…Neil."

_Neil is a descendant of Narcissus_, I thought. _That explains a lot_.

I had always wondered why Neil was such a deluded, self-absorbed twit and now I finally knew. Apparently, he took after his equally deluded, self-absorbed twit of an ancestor.

"Agnon, you and I will keep watch on the scrying pool," Cronus continued. "The moment we confirm that Neil is gone we can begin taking care of the rest of those children. The rest of you will begin preparations for their arrival."

Cronus sent me to watch the scrying pool while he got my brothers organized. He joined me a short time later.

"Well?" he asked as he entered the room.

I shrugged nothing had happened yet.

"Don't worry, Agnon," Cronus assured me, "it's only a matter of time."

* * *

Hours later, I was crammed into the back of a semi-trailer with Agrios, Clytius, and Gration. Cronus and I had observed the other heroes splitting into two person teams to search for Neil. Our task now was simple to find and capture the remaining heroes.

"Ah, this is it," Cronus determined. "The prophecy says that seven heroes will be my downfall, not six. With Neil out of the picture, those so-called heroes are destined to fail. Now is the time to strike."

My brothers and I burst from the trailer and headed in different directions, all of us intent on our task. This time we would not fail.

"Victory is in our grasp," Cronus called after us, "thanks to Echo."

Gration and I decided to stick together. We figured that since the heroes were in pairs it would be easier to catch them if there were two of us.

"So what do you think?" I asked. "Do we have a chance of winning?"

"I hope so," Gration grumbled. "I'm tired of listening to Cronus' complaints when things go wrong."

"Don't I know it," I responded. "Every time we lose it's the same thing. Cronus gets mad and blames us."

"Even when it's not our fault," Gration jumped in.

"Yeah like that mess with the Stymphalian birds," I pointed out. "It wasn't our fault they followed him through that portal, but he sure acted like it was."

Gration shuddered.

"Don't remind me," he begged. "I still have nightmares. It took hours to get rid of them and what they did to Alcyoneus."

I nodded in complete agreement. Since Alcyoneus was in no shape to participate in our current mission, Cronus had assigned him the task of watching the scrying pool, just in case Echo decided to let Neil go.

We had just turned down an alley and Gration was about to make another comment when I heard what sounded like footsteps up ahead. I held up a hand and he immediately fell silent.

"Did you hear that?" I whispered.

We both stopped to listen and a moment later, we heard two familiar voices drifting toward us.

"I can't believe the spa was a bust," Atlanta complained. "That's where we always find Neil when he disappears."

"We still have a few leads," Archie pointed out, "the hair salon, the hall of mirrors…"

_How ridiculous_, I thought. _Neil has to be the most shallow, vain, self-centered person in the universe. Why do they put up with him_?

"This sucks," Atlanta grumbled. "It's so much easier when we can actually see what we're up against."

While they were talking, Gration and I worked out a plan. He would wait at the end of the main alley while I ducked out of sight down a side alley. Gration would come at the heroes from the front and, we hoped, distract them enough that they wouldn't notice me sneaking up behind them.

A few moments later, I heard Gration let out a roar of challenge.

"You just made my day," Atlanta exalted.

Soon the sounds of a fight were ringing through the alley.

"Need a hand?" Archie asked.

"No! This one's mine," Atlanta replied.

Archie was watching the fight from a position only a few feet in front of me. I smiled with satisfaction. Archie and Atlanta obviously thought Gration was alone, and, with him keeping Atlanta busy, capturing Archie would be easy. Clearly, it had never occurred to them that we were every bit as capable of mounting a two-pronged attack as they were.

Moving as quietly as possible, I snuck up behind Archie and trapped him in a large burlap bag I'd brought with me.

"Whoa! Hey!" he shouted.

I picked him up and he struggled madly, but with his arms pinned and his feet flailing in the air, he stood no chance. I was about to leave when Atlanta abruptly shifted her attention to me.

"Let him go," she commanded. "Now!"

She took aim with her laser wrist crossbow, but before she could use it, Gration imprisoned her in a bag identical to mine.

The two of us exchanged disbelieving looks as the full impact of what we'd done sank in. For months, we'd tried to catch the heroes and had failed to bring Cronus even one. Now we had two heroes in our grasp. It all seemed too impossible to be true.

Gration smiled as he casually flipped his sack over his shoulder. I was about to do the same when something suddenly occurred to me.

This was too easy.

We'd tried to capture the heroes countless times and now with almost no effort we'd succeeded. It didn't make sense. Why, after so many humiliating failures, had things suddenly turned in our favor? The only explanation I could come up with I almost didn't want to think about.

Maybe this wasn't a trap for the heroes. Maybe it was a trap for us.

"What's wrong?" Gration asked, observing my sudden hesitation and obvious nervousness.

"Do you think it's possible the heroes staged Neil's disappearance?" I asked. "That this is all an elaborate ploy to lure Cronus and us into the open, so they can capture us and return us to Tartarus?"

"Do you think it could be?" Gration responded, looking nervous himself at the idea.

"I don't know," I replied. "They're certainly clever enough to devise a plan like that, but that doesn't mean they did."

I looked around, expecting the remaining five heroes to accost us at any moment. When after several seconds, nothing happened I finally relaxed. I looked at Gration.

"I guess Neil really is gone," I said.

The two of us exchanged triumphant smiles, then, headed off to find Cronus.

* * *

We caught up to him an hour later. He was busy supervising Agrios and Clytius who were loading something into the semi-trailer. Gration and I strolled over to them, flush with the kind of triumphant pride only a long delayed victory can bring. Cronus looked at us expectantly.

"Well?" he demanded.

Gration and I dropped our sacks at Cronus' feet, eliciting a storm of outrage protests from our captives. I was relieved to be able to put down that bothersome burden. The entire time I was carrying it, Archie was squirming, kicking, and generally doing everything he could to cause problems. I'd considered slamming the sack against a wall to put a stop to it, but I knew Cronus had something special planned for the heroes and I didn't want to risk his wrath by causing any permanent damage to Archie. Judging by the relieved look on Gration's face, he felt the same way.

"Well done," Cronus praised.

I bent to untie my sack, but Cronus raised a hand to stop me.

"Don't open it just yet, Agnon," he said.

I stepped back wondering what Cronus had in mind. As I watched, he aimed a burst of magic at both sacks. Red light engulfed the bags and when it dissipated, they were still and silent. The silence was another relief. I had grown just as tired of listening to the constant stream of verbal abuse Archie had hurled at me as I had of his constant struggling.

"Now you may open them," Cronus directed.

Gration and I untied the sacks and dumped their contents onto the street. Archie and Atlanta hit the ground with a thud and lay there unmoving.

"Put them in the truck," Cronus ordered, "We have one more stop to make."

Gration and I climbed into the back of the truck, which was a lot roomier with only the two of us, while Agrios and Clytius climbed in the front. I glanced around wondering whom my brothers had caught. Cronus comment about having one stop left told me plainly that Agrios and Clytius must have captured a pair of heroes too.

A bench ran the length of the trailer's left side and seated on it bound and unconscious were Jay and Theresa. I turned to Gration and smiled. This day just kept getting better. First, I managed to capture a hero and now the boy who had eluded me and caused Porphyrion's death was a helpless prisoner. I could hardly wait to witness the horrible end I was certain Cronus had devised for him and his friends.

Gration and I tied Archie and Atlanta up and put them on the bench with Jay and Theresa. A moment later, Cronus climbed in the trailer and we were underway again.

"Everything's going according to plan," he exclaimed with satisfaction. "It won't be long now before these meddlesome pests are out of my way for good."

* * *

We drove a short distance and then stopped. Cronus got out and before my disbelieving eyes transformed into an exact duplicate of Neil.

"What do you think, Agnon?" he asked in a flawless imitation of Neil's voice.

I smiled and nodded. It was a perfect likeness. The only thing that confused me was why Cronus hadn't used this trick on the heroes before. It seemed like the ideal way to infiltrate their group. Perhaps it was because we had failed to capture one or maybe he could only maintain the change for brief periods. Either way I knew I wasn't likely to find out.

Cronus used his magic to move the truck out of sight and we all settled in to wait. We didn't wait long. Only a few moments later, Herry's truck backed into the trailer where Gration and I were waiting for it.

"I've often dreamt of this moment," Cronus said still in Neil's form and using Neil's voice.

Laughing he resumed his own shape.

"Cronus!" Odie exclaimed.

"What did you do to our friends?" Herry demanded.

"They're merely sleeping," Cronus answered, "for now. And you're about to join them!"

Gration then wasted no time starting to tear the roof off Herry's truck.

"My truck," Herry howled in fury, "you wrecked my truck!"

_You're at the mercy of two giants and a deranged god and you're worried about your truck_, I thought. _What's wrong with you_?

Herry removed his seatbelt and stood on his seat, clearly intent on revenging his damaged truck. Before he could do anything about it, however, Cronus aimed a burst of magic at Herry and Odie. Red light engulfed the truck and its occupants as it had engulfed the sacks containing Archie and Atlanta a short time ago.

"Come on Odie let's…" Herry started then noticed that his companion was already asleep.

Herry continued to struggle against Cronus' magic, and for a moment, it looked like he might actually stand a chance.

"You'll…pay…for…" Herry tried to say, but the magic was too strong. Before he could finish he'd collapsed back into the truck. His head landed on the horn, filling the trailer with its blaring.

Gration and I reached through the hole in the truck's roof and pulled out the now unconscious heroes. Gration grabbed Herry while I grabbed Odie. We tied them up and then waited for Cronus' orders.

Cronus opened the semi-trailer door and climbed out. Gration and I followed him, pausing only to grab Archie and Atlanta, when we emerged Agrios and Clytius climbed in and retrieved Jay and Theresa, as well as the heroes' weapons.

Once we had everything, we needed, Cronus opened a portal, and we headed back to our lair. When we arrived, we untied the heroes and locked them in a large cage. We hooked the cage to a crane and within minutes had suspended it above a pool of acid.

Now that the heroes were locked up, Clytius approached the pool and was about to throw in their weapons when Cronus told him to stop.

"After all," he said, "the gods must have something to remember their precious heroes by."

I smiled. I knew Cronus didn't care about giving the gods remembrances of their fallen champions. He just wanted to see their distraught faces when he presented the weapons as proof that the heroes were dead.

Clytius either didn't appreciate the depths of Cronus' cruelty or didn't care. He simply shuffled away from the pool and placed the weapons in a pile on the floor. Now we just had to wait for the heroes to wake up.

Then the fun would really begin.

* * *

While we waited, a festive atmosphere prevailed. Everyone was deliriously happy. Finally, after months of hard work, sacrifice and countless setbacks we'd won. All that remained was to eliminate the heroes permanently, and with Neil out of the picture and the gods unaware the heroes were in danger, nothing could stop us this time.

Since nothing exciting was going to happen until the heroes woke up, I decided to go and check on Alcyoneus. I wanted him to hear about our impending victory first hand.

"Can I come with you?" Clytius asked when I told him where to find me just in case the heroes woke up while I was gone.

"Sure," I answered, hoping to hear about his and Agrios' capture of Jay and Theresa.

"What's going on?" Alcyoneus asked when we arrived in the scrying pool cavern. "Have you caught the heroes yet?"

"Yes," I replied jubilantly.

"Really?" he demanded disbelieving.

"They're in the main cavern right now," I answered, "in a cage suspended above a pool of acid. Cronus used magic to knock them out, but once they wake up, he'll slowly lower the cage. By the time he's finished they'll be nothing left of them, but bad memories."

"Wonderful," Alcyoneus laughed. "We've finally won."

I regaled him and Clytius with the details of Gration's and my capture of Archie and Atlanta and Cronus' brilliant strategy for tricking Odie and Herry. Then I turned to Clytius for his story of Jay and Theresa's capture.

"Agrios and I didn't get far when Cronus called us back," Clytius began. "I told us he might know where to find two of the heroes and ordered us to accompany him. When we arrived, we saw Theresa first. She'd just exited a backyard. Agrios grabbed her and put a hand over her mouth, so she couldn't warn Jay. When he came out he was asking if she'd let him drive, then he saw Agrios. Jay told Agrios he'd just made a big mistake, then, he pulled out his xiphos and activated this energy shield I've never seen before. He threw his xiphos at Agrios…"

"But there wasn't a mark on Agrios," I protested. "If Jay threw his sword at him why wasn't he cut?"

"I was getting to that part," Clytius growled, irritated by the interruption.

"Sorry," I mumbled.

"Anyway," Clytius resumed impatiently. "He missed."

"Jay, the Jay, missed?" I gasped, unable to keep myself from interrupting again. "He never misses!"

It was true. We'd been fighting the heroes for nearly a year and I'd never seen Jay miss a target with that xiphos.

"Yeah well, he missed this time," Clytius responded, "and quit interrupting me!"

"Sorry," I mumbled again.

"Besides," Clytius continued, "he must have missed before because he said 'Missed again, what is that?' then he pulled out that retractable staff of his. He was going to try to take down Agrios again, but Agrios held Theresa right in front of him, like a human shield, so Jay dropped his weapon, deactivated his shield, and surrendered."

"Just like that?" I asked.

"Just like that," Clytius confirmed having apparently resigned himself to my interruptions. "Cronus told him he'd made a wise move and I think Jay was surprised to see Cronus there in person. Then Cronus zapped Jay and Theresa with his magic and they both collapsed. Agrios and I tied them up loaded them in the truck and you know the rest."

I nodded. This was the point they'd been at when Gration and I found them.

"Cronus must be thrilled," Alcyoneus commented.

"Oh he is," I answered. "Extremely thrilled, in fact, I've never seen him happier."

"Good," Alcyoneus responded. "Do you think he'll let me come watch the heroes meet their doom?"

"No harm in asking," I replied, "especially with him in such a good mood."

"So you'll find out for me?" Alcyoneus requested.

"Sure," I responded. I firmly believed that all my brothers deserved to see the heroes' demise. After all the problems they'd caused us we'd earned that much at least.

* * *

Boredom was just beginning to set in when low groans and sounds of movement started coming from the cage nearly two hours later. Another half hour went by before all the heroes were awake. They all stood up and looked through the bars probably trying to figure out what was happening.

"Ah, you're all awake," Cronus said. "Good."

_Finally_, I thought. _Now we can get on with this_.

"You won't get away with this Cronus," Jay insisted. "The prophecy says…"

"Seven heroes will thwart my plans," Cronus interrupted. "Yes seven. No Neil, no prophecy, I win. Hello end of the world."

I didn't care about the end of the world. I just wanted to see the end of the heroes.

Cronus used his magic to start lowering the cage. Then he put me in charge of the controls. We all watched eagerly as the cage dropped toward the acid. I wished Alcyoneus could've watched this, but Cronus had insisted he continue monitoring the scrying pool. I didn't think we had anything to worry about, but Cronus wasn't taking any chances not when we were so close to victory. Just then, Cronus' voice dragged me back to the present.

"Slower, Agnon," he ordered, "I want to savor this."

I obligingly adjusted the controls. Cronus wasn't the only one who wanted to make the heroes' demise last as long as possible. I could almost picture it.

The cage would inch steadily closer to the acid while the heroes grew increasingly nervous as they realized there was no hope of escape. Then, just before the cage touched the acid, Cronus would stop it to give the heroes a chance to beg for their lives. Naturally, they would refuse and so they would all die.

It would not be a quick death either. After all the trouble they'd caused him, Cronus would want to make sure they suffered as much as possible. The cage would sink into the acid one inch at a time. At first, the heroes would probably try to keep themselves out of the acid by clinging to the sides and top of the cage, but after a while even that would not be enough. Their dying screams would be music to my ears, just payment for the suffering they had inflicted on my brothers and me.

I closed my eyes for a moment to better focus on these glorious images. Unfortunately, things didn't turn out that way.

The cage had barely started moving when there was a clatter from the other room.

"What was that?" Cronus asked using his magic to stop the cage.

He paused for a moment as though weighing his options.

"Agnon, watch the prisoners," he commanded. "If they try anything release the cage. The rest of you come with me."

As Cronus, Agrios, Clytius, and Gration hurried into the next room, I chuckled happily at the idea of having such complete control over the heroes' deaths, filled with joyful anticipation. I honestly hoped they would try something just so I could watch the brief looks of horror flit across their faces as they plunged into the acid.

I kept a close eye on them, ready to release the cage the instant they tried to escape. They were shifting around nervously, no doubt hoping this unexpected distraction might buy them time to get away. As they moved, I caught a brief glimpse of Herry trying to bend the bars and open a way to freedom for himself and his friends.

I moved one hand to the release button on the controls. The moment any of the heroes even poked their heads out, I would send them all into the acid bath waiting below.

"Agnon, get over here I need you," Cronus suddenly bellowed from the other room.

"Huh?" I grunted puzzled.

"Now!" Cronus barked.

I was reluctant to leave the heroes unguarded, but I was also well aware of the consequences of disobeying Cronus, so I hurried to join him. It didn't make sense though. Why would Cronus assign me to guard the prisoners and then call me to join him moments later? I didn't know what was going on, but I had a bad feeling about this.

A feeling, which Cronus confirmed, seconds later.

"Agnon, what are you doing?" he demanded when I caught up to him. "Who's watching the prisoners?"

I had no answers. What I did have was more confusion. If Cronus didn't call me then what was going on? How could I have heard Cronus' voice ordering me in here if he hadn't shouted for me? I didn't have time to think about it, but if I had, I knew I wouldn't have liked the answer.

"Quickly back inside," Cronus ordered.

Agrios, Clytius, Gration, and I hurried to obey, but we weren't moving fast enough to suit Cronus.

"Faster you idiots!" he yelled.

The moment we entered the room Cronus' gaze traveled to the cage. It didn't look any different than it had when I'd left, but Cronus noticed something right away.

"Where…is…Jay?" he growled from between clenched teeth.

Odie, Herry, Atlanta, Archie, and Theresa stared back stonily. There was no way Cronus would get an answer from them, but I didn't think he was expecting one.

Now that I was looking more closely at the cage, I noticed that not only had Jay escaped, the cage had moved. It was now closer to the acid than it had been when I'd left. Who could have moved it? I didn't think Jay would have had time, but someone had. I got my answer seconds later.

There was a sound to our left. We turned and saw Jay heading for the heroes weapons.

"Aha," Cronus crowed aiming a burst of magic at him.

"Jay look out!" shouted a voice I found horrifyingly familiar.

Jay managed to activate some kind of energy shield seconds before Cronus' magic struck him. The impact sent him tumbling back behind a pile of rocks. Now Cronus turned his attention to our new guest.

"Neil?" he exclaimed in obvious confusion.

I couldn't believe it. We were so close! Question tumbled through my mind. How could Neil have gotten here so fast? How could he have gotten here at all? How had he even learned about our plans? It just didn't make sense! It wasn't fair!

Agrios headed for Neil who bumped the controls for the crane connected to the cage and sent the cage spinning around.

In the meantime, Jay had climbed to his feet and was preparing to help his other friends.

"Jay the shield, it's throwing you off balance," Odie shouted.

Big mistake, Odie's shout attracted Cronus' attention and he shifted his focus away from Neil and back to Jay.

Jay deactivated his shield and threw his xiphos at the cage. Cronus directed another blast of magic at Jay. Unfortunately, before the magic could strike a now defenseless Jay, a woman materialized in front of him and blocked it.

The magic rebounded and knocked Cronus to the floor at the same time Jay's xiphos cut through the chain holding up the cage. The cage fell and unfortunately for us, landed directly on top of Agrios.

Herry bent the bars and the remaining five heroes hurried to join their companions. Growling, Clytius, Gration, and I moved to prevent their escape.

I couldn't believe this was happening! All our hard work wasted because of Neil…and Echo.

I knew the woman who'd saved Jay had to be Echo. Somehow Neil had discovered that we had his friends and convinced Echo to help him rescue them, which, given her obsession with Narcissus, was probably extremely easy.

I also realized that Echo was probably the one responsible for tricking me into leaving the room. She had obviously imitated Cronus' voice in order to get rid of me long enough for the heroes to escape.

Unfortunately, for them, we'd returned before all the heroes could escape and unfortunately, for us they'd managed to escape anyway. Once again, we faced the prospect of fighting all seven of them and to say that we were unprepared was putting things mildly. We had all counted on Echo to keep Neil away until it was too late and that hadn't happened.

I was unimpressed with this unwelcome and unexpected turn of events and I wasn't the only one.

"No. This can't be happening," Cronus protested. "No!"

It was happening, though and it was about to get worse.

I wasn't completely certain what happened next, although I was sure Echo was behind it. All I understood was the Cronus' final no rebounded, filling the room with its echoes, and bringing the ceiling down on us. Who else but Echo could have caused that?

Clytius, Gration, and I hit the ground seconds after the cave-in started, knowing we had once again failed to destroy the heroes. Never before had we come so close to victory and in my heart I was certain we never would again.

* * *

An hour later, I finally pulled myself from the rubble of the ceiling. The heroes were, of course, long gone, but they'd left plenty of destruction in their wake.

In addition to the roof being on the floor, Agrios and Gration were dead. The combined weight of the cage and the heroes in it had smashed Agrios' heads and Gration was lying a few feet away his body crushed under tons of debris.

I watched Clytius pull himself free and thought about how quickly everything had gone wrong. I wondered how much longer we could avoid a return to Tartarus. I was angry about the deaths of my two brothers and even angrier that all our efforts were for nothing, but I couldn't help feeling glad that I'd survived.

One look at the expression of livid fury on Cronus' face, however, made me wish I hadn't.

**A/N: You may have noticed that I wrote two more giant deaths into this chapter. For those of you who aren't sure Gration is the giant that looks like a cave man and Agrios is the one with two heads. I felt that since this was the last time they appeared their deaths were appropriate. I hope you liked this chapter, but if you have, any suggestions for improvements feel free to make them in the form of a politely worded review and be as specific as possible. I am willing to accept constructive criticism, and make any changes if you can give me a valid reason for doing so. Thank you. **


	12. Chapter 11: Eros

**A/N: Here at last is a new chapter for your enjoyment. Sorry it's a little late for Valentine's Day.**

Chapter 11  
Eros

"Agnon, get in here now!"

I jumped at the unexpected sound of Cronus' voice and hurried to answer his summons. I had been sitting alone in the chamber that served as living quarters for my brothers and me, contemplating our recent failure. I found I'd been spending a lot of time by myself lately, since my brothers still refused to speak to me. Two months had passed since the Echo fiasco and they were still furious with me. Not that I blamed them, I wasn't particularly happy either.

I still vividly recalled the last words they'd spoken to me.

_After Clytius and I had extricated ourselves from the rubble of the cave-in caused by Echo, and Cronus had yelled himself hoarse, I decided to go and tell Alcyoneus what had happened. His reaction was exactly what I'd expected._

"_You bonehead!" he'd screamed. "How could you do something so stupid? Thanks to you, we've lost what might be our only chance to get rid of those stupid heroes forever!"_

_Clytius hadn't yelled, but he made it clear he wasn't any happier with the situation._

"_We lost two more brothers," he'd reminded me in a flat expressionless voice, "and it's all because of you. Cronus told you to watch the prisoners and no matter what you heard or thought you heard you should have done your job."_

I knew they were right. I'd screwed up big time, but that didn't make their anger or the resulting silence any easier to bear. No matter how angry Cronus had gotten at us for the various failures we'd endured, I'd always thought I could rely on them, but now I knew I couldn't.

I entered the chamber adjoining our living quarters and found Cronus pacing restlessly. I waited patiently for him to acknowledge me. Considering how impatient he'd sounded, he didn't seem to be in any particular hurry.

"Agnon, do you know what tomorrow is?" he asked at last.

"Tuesday?" I ventured, uncertainly.

"It's Valentine's Day, Agnon," Cronus answered. "Do you know what that means?"

I shook my head, utterly baffled. I had no idea what Cronus might be driving at.

"Valentine's Day," Cronus explained, "is a holiday dreamed up by mortals as an excuse to show their affection for one another via the exchange of cheap gifts, sappy cards, and other assorted nonsense. Mortals give these things to their so-called sweethearts as a way of declaring their supposed love." Cronus spat the word love as though it were a curse, which considering how things had ended between him and his wife, Rhea, didn't surprise me.

"This festival of foolish fancy," Cronus continued, "has been perpetuated by Eros often know by his Roman name, Cupid."

I was now thoroughly mystified. I had thought that Cronus wanted to discuss his latest scheme, but this rant had seemed to have nothing to do with defeating our teenage foes. Frankly, I had about given up on our ever defeating them. It had been more than a year since our escape from Tartarus and in that time, we had accomplished nothing. I had absolutely no reason to believe that this year would be any different.

"Cupid," Cronus went on, clearly oblivious to my mounting puzzlement, "who travels the world on this day shooting mortals with his magic arrows and making them fall in love."

_When are you going to get to the point_? I wondered.

"I want you to bring Eros, his charming wife, Psyche, and his bow and arrows to me," Cronus instructed, coming to the point of his rant so abruptly that I was startled.

I stared at Cronus uncomprehendingly for several seconds.

_You want me to go out and collect some love god, his wife, and his magic arrows_, I thought, _why_?

"Why are you still standing there?" Cronus snapped. "Get moving!"

I hurried off, still unable to comprehend Cronus' plan.

* * *

I found Eros and Psyche living in modest home in the suburbs of New Olympia.

_Why would a god chose to live here, like a mortal_? I wondered.

I had a sudden vision of Cronus living in a neighborhood like this, inviting people over for backyard barbeques, holding garage sales, and putting up elaborate Christmas displays. It was so ridiculous I had to struggle not to burst out laughing. The idea of Cronus living a life like that, surrounded by his devoted family was utterly absurd.

Once I reached my destination, which looked similar to every other house on the block, I abandoned any thoughts of subtly. I knocked down the side entrance of the house and then the screaming started.

_Why do they always scream_? I wondered. _It never does any good. Even if someone came to investigate the second they saw me they'd probably turn and run in the opposite direction. They wouldn't bother calling the police either because nobody's going to believe that a giant just broke into their neighbor's house_. _They'd think it was a joke or that the caller's nuts_.

I scanned the room briefly. It was a typical kitchen. There was a partially eaten breakfast sitting on the table and two terrified people, wearing matching red and white tracksuits, clutching each other and yelling their heads off. For a moment, I wondered if I had the right people, I was certain I had the correct address, but these two didn't look much like gods. Then, I saw a bow and a quiver of arrows sitting nearby and knew I was right.

All this time, Eros and Psyche continued to yell. Finally, I had had enough noise it was time to put an end to the racket.

Reaching over I grabbed first Eros and then Psyche, gagged them, bound them, and shoved them into a sack.

_Ah, blessed silence_, I thought.

Tossing the sack over one shoulder, and ignoring the muffled protests of its occupants, I grabbed Eros' bow and arrows, and hurried up the street.

* * *

When I returned to our hideout, I found Cronus waiting for me. I tipped the contents of my sack onto the floor, placed my two captives side-by-side, stepped back, and waited to see what would happen next.

"Ah, Eros and Psyche," Cronus sighed. "Sorry to interrupt you both I know how busy you are this time of year and all, but I was thinking we'd try something new for Valentine's Day."

I handed Cronus the bow and quiver of arrows I'd retrieved.

"This year," the god continued, speaking directly to Eros, in a meaningful tone, "you will spread my message of hate to New Olympia. Especially to those annoying kids or you'll never see your beloved Psyche again!"

Taking that as my cue, I picked up Psyche while Eros looked on stricken and helpless.

I watched in horrified fascination as Cronus' eyes turned completely black. He then used magic to manipulate the bow, shooting Eros with one of his own arrows.

_You had me bring him here just so you could shoot him with one of his own arrows_, I thought utterly confused. _What are you trying to do, turn him into Neil_?

Suddenly, Eros' eyes turned as black as Cronus' eyes had been a moment before. Something was happening, but whatever it was, it clearly had nothing to do with making the god fall in love with himself.

"So, how do you feel, Cupid?" Cronus asked.

He snapped his fingers and Eros' bonds disappeared.

"My name is Eros!" Eros exclaimed angrily. "Cupid is a fat, balding baby! Do I look like a fat, balding baby to you?"

_Two out of three_, I thought.

"Ah, worked like a charm," Cronus pronounced in satisfaction, handing Eros his bow and arrows. "Now go forth and spread hate my cherubic Messenger of Mean!"

Eros disappeared and Cronus began laughing.

_Oh, now I get it_, I thought. _Cronus did something to change Eros' arrows. Now instead of spreading love, they'll spread hate_.

I took a moment to consider the possible repercussions of Eros shooting one or more of the heroes with one of his new arrows. It would be bedlam! If the heroes hated one another, they would effectively cease to function as a team. We could pick them off one by one. Nothing could possibly stop us this time! I just hoped nothing would happen to mess things up. I did not need a repeat of the Echo debacle.

* * *

Moments later, I was standing with Cronus and Psyche beside the scrying pool.

When I looked into it, I saw Archie, Atlanta, Herry, and Theresa playing a game of basketball. Herry jumped up to score a basket, but ended up bending the pole down so that it almost touched the ground. He picked up the ball and dropped it in.

"Two points?" he questioned, slightly embarrassed.

"You gotta take it down a notch, Herry," Theresa informed him.

"Sorry," he responded. "Sometimes I don't know my own strength."

_Oh please_, I thought, rolling my eyes, _I doubt if you ever know your own strength_.

Archie picked up the ball, but before he could do anything Atlanta whizzed by at super speed and grabbed it. She raced to the other side of the court and proceeded to throw the ball through the net Herry had just damaged.

"Whoo-hoo," she exclaimed, "the girl's win, oh yeah!"

"Hey no fair," Herry objected. "That's not a regulation net."

Suddenly, Eros appeared, but the heroes were unaware of his presence. I decided he must be able to make himself invisible. As we watched, he fired an arrow at Archie. Black and green light played briefly around Archie's body and his eyes turned black.

Meanwhile, Theresa and Atlanta were exchanging high fives and celebrating their victory.

"All right," Theresa laughed.

"We're not going down without a fight," Archie growled at the same time Eros took aim and fired an arrow at Atlanta.

"Bring it on loser," she taunted Archie.

"What did you say?" he demanded. Clearly, Eros' arrows had turned the two of them against each other.

"I said bring…it…on," Atlanta repeated her face inches from Archie's.

"What's that all about?" Theresa wondered.

Eros hit her and Herry with arrows almost simultaneously and they instantly turned on each other.

"Well, what are you waiting for meathead?" Theresa demanded. "Give me the ball."

Instead of complying with her request, Herry squeezed the ball until it popped.

"Oops, sorry," he told her, not meaning a word. "Sometimes I don't know my own strength."

Eros chuckled nastily before disappearing. A moment later, he reappeared, inside this time. Odie was sitting at a desk, scratching his head while he mulled over a problem in front of him. Eros fired an arrow at him. Seconds later, he swept everything off his desk.

"The textbook clearly states the liquid should turn blue," he snapped, "not cloudy."

Next, Eros emerged in a bathroom, where Neil was preening in front of a mirror.

"I love me," the blonde nitwit stated. "I love me not. Like that's ever gonna happen," he scoffed. "I love me."

Eros fired an arrow at him, but Neil dropped his head to wash his face and the arrow ended up embedded in the mirror instead.

"Missed," Eros grumbled in annoyance. He quickly fired another arrow and this time it found its mark.

Neil had just finished drying his face and turned back to the mirror.

"Ugh, my hair it's awful," he complained. "I am so ugly."

He scrambled around in the garbage for a minute before finding a paper bag, which he promptly placed over his head. Then, he stumbled out of the bathroom, bumping into Eros in the process. Satisfied that he had completed his task, Eros left the bathroom to spread hate to the rest of the citizens of New Olympia.

A moment later, Jay came out of one of the stalls.

"Neil?" he called. "Neil are you in here?"

Receiving no response, Jay proceeded to wash his hands and noticed the arrow embedded in the mirror.

"Huh, that's strange," he commented.

_Not as strange as Neil being in loathe with himself_, I thought. _I've never seen anything stranger or more entertaining_.

I watched as Jay pulled the arrow from the mirror and looked at it more closely, then, whether because he understood its significance or simply because he didn't want to leave it lying around for someone else to find, he tucked it into his bag and left.

I turned to Cronus, expecting him to be furious that Eros had missed one of the heroes and not just any hero, but the hero Cronus seemed to despise the most. However, he seemed to be taking things in stride. Perhaps he figured that Eros would get Jay later or maybe he'd decided that with six of the heroes out of commission it didn't matter very much. After all, what could Jay do to stop Cronus' plan? How much of a threat could he be by himself?

It worried me though. We had been down this same road with the Echo disaster. We'd had six heroes all but destroyed when the seventh showed up and ruined our carefully laid plans. I did not think it was wise to take that same chance a second time. The trouble was I couldn't say anything because I knew that Cronus was not interested in the opinion of someone he so obviously considered inferior. I had no choice. Once again, I kept my mouth shut. I just hoped I wouldn't come to regret it.

* * *

I expected Cronus to stay by the scrying pool to watch the chaos he'd unleashed unfold, but apparently, he had other ideas.

"Agnon, bring the prisoner and come with me," he commanded, opening a portal.

I picked up Psyche, followed Cronus through the portal, and found myself standing on a mountaintop on the outskirts of the city. From our lofty vantage point, we could see the entire city spread out before us.

After a few moments, I began to wish that Cronus had chosen to leave me behind. There was nothing for me to do here and I was bored senseless. At least if I was back at our hideout I could've watched the unfolding chaos on the scrying pool. I looked around for something to amuse myself, but aside from Cronus, Psyche and a snake, which I decided to leave alone when it displayed a wicked looking set of fangs, the mountaintop was deserted.

Cronus turned from his contemplation of the city, for a moment, to address our captive.

"Comfy my dear?" he asked. "I do wonder if Eros will return for you. It seems he's found a new passion."

Cronus returned his gaze to the city spread out below, chuckling softly.

_At least Eros gets to do something_, I thought a little enviously, _instead of just standing around_.

With nothing else to occupy them, my thoughts began to drift once more to our recent failure. That had become something of a trend with me as I struggled to comprehend exactly what had gone wrong.

I simply didn't understand how everything had gone so wrong so fast. It seemed like one minute things were going our way and the next all our plans were in shambles. I knew I had played a part in that by leaving our prisoners unguarded, but I was also certain that I wasn't entirely to blame for our failure. Perhaps it was because of all our previous failures, not all of which I'd had a part in, but I didn't believe that I was solely responsible for our recent defeat. Something else had contributed to it. Granted, it was something I could neither explain nor identify, but that didn't mean it didn't exist.

The more I thought about it, the more convinced I was that something important had changed between the time we'd caught Jay, Odie, Herry, Atlanta, Archie, and Theresa and the time they'd escaped. I racked my brain trying to determine what that something might be. What had changed between the first event and the second?

It was no use. The only thing I could think of was the arrival of Echo and Neil and…

Then it hit me. Finally, I understood not only how our luck had changed with such blinding speed but also why the heroes' put up with Neil.

I had always wondered why Jay and the others didn't kick Neil off the team. He seemed useless as a hero. He took no apparent interest in anything other than himself. He was always fussing about his appearance and staring at his reflection in that ridiculous mirror, he carried everywhere. How could anyone so self-absorbed possibly be a hero? Now, though, I realized that Neil did have something to contribute to the team.

Neil was their good luck charm.

It made perfect sense. Neil had always seemed to enjoy unusually good luck and apparently, that luck extended to the rest of the heroes as well. When Echo had kidnapped Neil, they'd lost that advantage, allowing us to capture them easily. Once Echo brought Neil back, his good luck had helped them to escape.

I couldn't wait to explain this to my brothers! This proved I wasn't solely responsible for the Echo catastrophe. I was elated! I was ecstatic! It wasn't my fault! Then, a sobering thought hit me.

Would they believe me?

They had absolutely no reason whatsoever to believe that my theory was the truth. It wouldn't matter to them that it was a perfectly reasonable explanation for what had happened, not only recently, but also in every conflict, we'd had with the heroes so far. I could try to explain my reasoning to them, but given their anger, I had little cause to think they would give me a fair hearing. They would probably just ignore me or insist on proof they'd know I could not provide.

Still, I wondered if it would hurt to try. At worst, they would belittle my conclusions, but it was possible they might listen, if I decided to wait until they were in a more receptive mood. Perhaps if Cronus' current plan succeeded I could convince them. They would certainly be happier with the heroes eliminated.

As for Neil's luck getting in our way, even the greatest luck had to run out sometime. There was no reason to think his wouldn't run out today. Eros had already managed to shoot him with an arrow maybe that was a sign that Neil's luck was finally starting to turn. I certainly wanted that to be the case, but only time would tell.

* * *

After what felt that an eternity, but was probably no more than a few hours, things finally began to get interesting.

Three of the seven heroes showed up on jet-powered gliders. They were too high up and wearing helmets that completely covered their heads, so it was impossible to be sure whom they were, but I was reasonably certain that one of them was Jay.

_I knew it_, I thought. _I just knew this would happen_.

Cronus had seemed so unconcerned about Eros' failure to shoot Jay with an arrow that I had started to believe there was no reason to worry. Now, however, I could see that I was right to be concerned. Obviously, Jay had discovered the arrow's purpose and managed to find a way to counteract it, probably with the help of one of the gods.

In a flash, I realized which god it probably was, Aphrodite. Who better to reverse the effects of one of Eros' arrows than his mother the goddess of love? No doubt, she'd whipped up a love potion or some such thing and poof Eros' spell of hate was broken.

This was exactly the sort of thing that always happened to spoil our plans. Still, with only three of the seven heroes here we might still have a chance.

"Eros has failed me," Cronus growled, "time to take matters into my own hands."

He grabbed the snake I'd noticed earlier and squeezed two drops of venom from its fangs. The drops hit the ground and three enormous, black, and green flying serpents appeared.

"Since those kids are always poisoning my plans," Cronus chuckled, "let's change the plan."

I watched transfixed, as the terrifying creatures launched themselves into the air and set off in pursuit of the heroes. Our enemies did their best to deal with this new and unexpected threat, but they were no match for the flying monstrosities. Despite their best efforts at evasion, two the heroes were knocked from the sky almost immediately.

One of them got his parachute caught in a tree and when he removed his helmet, I recognized Odie. A few seconds later, another hero landed a short distance away.

"Odie?" he asked in a voice I recognized as belonging to Neil.

Odie pointed to us and Neil turned around.

"Nice of you two to drop in," Cronus mocked.

I seized the two hapless heroes, quickly bound and gagged them and dumped them on the ground beside Psyche, but I couldn't stop staring at Neil.

Something very strange had happened to the usually lucky hero, someone had shaved all the hair off his head. I remembered Neil complaining about his hair after Eros shot him, and I wondered if he had done it himself. It didn't seem likely though, I doubted if Neil's self-loathing had extended that far. I wondered who had done it and why. I also wished I could have seen Neil's reaction when he stopped hating himself and saw what had happened to him.

_Things are looking up_, I thought with satisfaction. _We have two prisoners and at least four of the heroes may still be at each other's throats_. _Perhaps their luck is finally starting to turn_.

Cronus seemed happy with things too.

"I kind of like the way this turned out, don't you?" he asked our new prisoners.

Everything did seem to be going our way, but, of course, it couldn't last. It never did.

"Don't be so sure of yourself, Cronus," Jay shouted.

I stared in shock as Jay came barreling out of the sky, striking Cronus with his staff and sending the god flying. Cronus landed on a ledge a few feet below and Jay set down across from him. I watched the two of them fight for several minutes. Then a well-aimed blow from Cronus sent Jay sliding over the rocky surface. Jay's staff tumbled over the edge. Now he was alone and, apparently, unarmed. I waited for him to pull out his sword and when he didn't, I concluded that he must have dropped it during his skirmish with the serpents. I was certain victory was at hand.

Jay rose to his feet and stood fists cocked waiting for Cronus to make his next move. I observed the scene with mounting disbelief.

_Is he crazy_? I wondered. _He doesn't stand a chance_!

"Oh look," Cronus laughed gazing upward at our three captives and me, "he wants to fight like a man!"

_He's definitely crazy_, I decided, _because only a lunatic would be foolish enough to face down Cronus without a weapon_.

"I am not a man, Jay," Cronus admonished turning his attention back to the hero. "I am a god!"

Without further comment, Cronus used his scythes to blast Jay over the cliff. I listened with satisfaction as the boy's terrified shouts faded away to silence.

_It's over_, I thought, _there's no way he could survive a fall from that height._

I was wrong.

Before my astonished eyes, an unexpected scene unfolded. Archie, Atlanta, and Jay came swinging up over the cliff edge. I climbed down to the ledge Cronus was standing on eager to help.

"Jay," I heard Atlanta say her attention focused on her teammate. "He's hurt," she informed Archie worriedly.

Then, their attention turned to me. I growled menacingly. I could hardly wait to start knocking these heroes around.

"He's yours," Archie told Atlanta. "He won't stand a chance against you."

"I won't go as easy on him," she answered back.

_What is that supposed to mean_? I wondered.

While Atlanta moved to confront me, Archie attempted to help Jay regain his feet.

"Archie, look out!" Jay shouted as one of the serpents moved to strike.

They managed to avoid the creature's jaws and the next thing I knew it had set its sights on Cronus.

"Foolish beast," he snapped.

He used one of his scythes to slice it in two, reducing it to a pile of dust, while another one snuck up behind him. Cronus managed to climb aboard this serpent and moved to attack Jay and Archie.

"Heads up, Jay," Archie called, tossing Jay his sword.

Jay managed to use his regained weapon to parry the serpent's jaws, but injured as he was I was certain he couldn't last long. Unfortunately, I had forgotten that he had Archie to help him. The purple-haired hero used his whip to pull Cronus from the serpent's back and a sudden blow from the monster's tail sent Cronus plummeting toward the ground so far below.

"Ba-bye," Archie called mockingly as Cronus fell.

Now, I focused my attention on fending off Atlanta.

I was about as successful as Cronus. I ended up standing on the cliff edge with Atlanta pointing her laser crossbow at me.

"Jump!" she commanded.

"Uh-uh," I grunted, shaking my head. There was no way I was jumping off a cliff.

"Fine then," she muttered and shot me with her crossbow sending me plummeting to the ground so very, very far below me.

* * *

I sat up groaning some time later and immediately began plotting the painful revenge I would take against Atlanta. I turned my head and saw Cronus standing a short distance away glaring up at Mount Olympia. As I expected he looked unscathed while I felt as though every bone in my body was broken. It was a miracle I'd survived that fall, but judging by the number of broken branches around me, the trees had slowed my descent somewhat.

As I heaved my aching body upright, I heard Cronus shouting at the sky.

"You may have escaped me this time, Jay," he roared, "but someday I will have my revenge!"

_Oh shut up_, I thought, disgusted, _just shut up_!

**A/N: I hope you enjoyed the chapter and I'll try to have another one posted soon.**


	13. Chapter 12: Orion

**A/N: As with Chapter 9, this chapter is about an episode where the sole giant involved (Agnon) has very little screen time, but I think I managed to put together something you'll enjoy.**

Chapter 12  
Orion

Cronus had come up with a new plan for defeating our teenage foes at least I assumed that's why he'd dragged me to a cliff-top in the middle of the night. Honestly though, I wasn't sure. If this was part of a new plan, he hadn't seen to fit to enlighten me on the details.

"Star light, star bright first star I see tonight. Shall we make a wish Agnon?" he asked.

"Huh?" I grunted utterly perplexed.

_You brought me up here just so you could make a wish_, I thought incredulous. _What wish would you make? Perhaps you'll wish for all the heroes to simultaneously combust or that the gods will decide to abandon them. Perhaps you'll wish that the gods and heroes never existed in the first place. Have you lost your mind? Do you really think a simple wish can solve all our problems_?

"Asteri! Kynigos! Awaken!" Cronus commanded clapping his scythes together.

At his command, something strange began to happen in the sky. At first, I couldn't understand it. Then, I realized that an entire constellation was shooting out of the sky…and it was heading straight for us! I dove out to the way as the stars struck the ground surrounding Cronus.

I waited for a few moments, until I was certain things had calmed down then I looked back and saw Cronus talking to a man made out of stars.

"Are you up for a challenge?" Cronus asked.

"Always," the star man replied.

"Excellent," Cronus answered. "This is what I want you to do."

He gestured and an image of our seven enemies appeared in the air between them.

"I want you to track them," Cronus instructed. "Trap them if possible, kill them if necessary. Can you do it?"

"Yes," the man replied and disappeared.

While all this was happening, I was busy trying to figure out whom our new ally was. Then, when Cronus mentioned tracking and trapping it hit me.

Orion.

Cronus had called Orion the Hunter down from the sky.

I wasn't sure what to think at first. On the one hand Orion was a formidable hunter who would almost certainly be able to capture the heroes, but on the other hand he was once involved with Artemis. Granted, she'd killed him, but that didn't mean he hated her enough to join Cronus' mad quest for the gods destruction. He might not hate her at all. He might not even know she was responsible for his death. Although, I suspected that if Cronus believed that he would have lost no time informing our temporary ally.

Could we trust him was the question I most wished I could answer. I thought about it for a while before deciding that ultimately it didn't matter. Regardless of how I felt it was almost inevitable that Orion would fail or betray us. I knew that just as surely as I knew the sun would rise, so I put all thoughts of victory out of my mind. Maybe we would walk away from this with something we could use to our advantage later, but I was not going to pin my hopes on Orion's help. This time I planned to avoid the sting of defeat, by not letting myself hope for victory in the first place.

Coming out of my reverie, I realized that Cronus had disappeared. No doubt after sending Orion off on his mission Cronus had decided to return to our lair to watch events unfold on the scrying pool. I didn't really care. I had no desire to see us fail again. I was perfectly content to wait here for Orion to return to his rightful place in the heavens.

I stretched out on my back with my hands behind my head and waited.

* * *

Time passed and my mind wandered. I thought back to the conversation I'd had with my brothers, months earlier. It was the first and last time we'd really discussed how badly things had gone since our decision to follow Cronus. I'd tried to start a similar conversation with Alcyoneus and Clytius, but ever since the Echo debacle, things hadn't been the same between us. I still bore the brunt of the blame for that disaster and although they would speak to me now they had no interest in talking about the past or the future. I'd even tried bringing up my theory that Neil was the heroes' good luck charm, but as I'd predicted they'd just shrugged it off. I just wished…

_What do I wish_? I wondered suddenly, staring at the multitude of stars in the sky overhead. _If I could have anything, I wanted what would I choose_?

It was an interesting question. One I'd never given much thought to before. Would I make one of the wishes I thought Cronus planned to make himself? Would I wish for the heroes to combust? Would I wish for the gods to abandon their teenage defenders or that the gods and heroes had never existed? Would I wish for the restoration of the eight brothers I'd lost? I honestly had no idea.

_It doesn't really matter_, I realized. _This is all just speculation anyway. Stars don't have the power to grant wishes and even if they did_…

I sighed heavily. Even if they did, I doubted I'd have the strength to wish for the thing that I truly wanted because the thing I truly, desperately wanted was freedom and for me freedom might well come with a price too terrible to contemplate. I just wanted all of this to be finished. I was tired of fighting a pointless war against opponents I honestly believed we had no chance of beating. I was tired of taking the blame every time one of Cronus' schemes backfired. I was tired of living in fear that my next screw up might be my last. I was surprised to realize that even the thought of returning to Tartarus, which was likely as close to freedom as I would get, no longer bothered me as much as it once had. If that were the only thing that could free me from this nightmare, I would embrace it and I knew it probably was. The only real question was whether I'd end up there because of our enemies or because of Cronus.

Suddenly, I no longer had any desire to be alone with my thoughts. I climbed to my feet and headed off in search of a way back to our secret headquarters only to get hopelessly lost within minutes. I kept walking, hoping I'd eventually find my way out of the forest.

* * *

I walked for what felt like forever. It was almost pitch black under the trees, and branches whipped me in the face while my feet snagged on roots as I stumbled over the uneven ground. The forest seemed endless and I still had no idea where I was or how much farther I had to go. I grew increasingly nervous, my heart racing with every unexpected sound as I began to imagine the type of predators that might call this forest home.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity I saw a clearing up ahead. I hurried forward, anxious to escape the shadows of the trees, but stopped short when I heard voices. I stood still for a moment listening, wondering if perhaps I'd stumbled upon the heroes, which, I couldn't help thinking would be just my luck. After a few seconds, however, I recognized the voices as belonging to Cronus and Orion.

"Oh, done so soon?" I heard Cronus asking.

"Lovely night, isn't it?" Orion asked in response.

I crept closer so I could hear better and I could just make out their outlines in front of me. They were both looking upward and when I followed their gaze, I could see they were staring at the patch of sky where Orion had once resided.

"Well a little darker than usual," Cronus commented, "not that I mind."

_He might not mind_, I thought, rubbing a scratch on my arm, _but I do_.

"But what I do mind is failure," Cronus added a heartbeat later.

_He's failed already_, I thought_, well that's not surprising_.

"I found them," Orion answered calmly.

_So he hasn't failed after all_, I thought, _at least not yet, but I'm sure he will if Cronus gives him enough time_.

"Finding them isn't a problem," I heard Cronus answering. "I thought you could track them. Find out where they live, where they sleep, or better yet where they visit the gods."

_Yes_, I thought. _If Orion can learn the answers to any or all of those questions, it will give us a tremendous advantage. We could attack the heroes while they sleep or keep them from getting to the gods. It would improve our chances of defeating our foes enormously_.

"You have to know your prey before you track them," Orion explained. "These children they're very special. That girl, Atlanta, her skills could rival mine, with practice."

I couldn't help noticing the admiration in Orion's voice. He sounded almost delighted by Atlanta's abilities and judging by Cronus' next comment I don't think he was pleased.

"Just like Artemis," he suggested.

"Artemis?" Orion asked an edge to his voice.

"Oh, so you still remember her, how sweet," Cronus mocked.

"How could I forget after what she did?" Orion demanded furiously.

"Oh don't tell me you're still angry just because she killed you," Cronus laughed. "I mean that's just so mortal of you."

_This coming from someone who's holding a grudge against his own son_, I thought. _How are your feelings about Zeus any different from Orion's feelings about Artemis? You both want revenge for something that happened thousands of years ago, as though that will change what happened or give you back the time you lost. You call my brothers and me pathetic, but you're the one who's truly contemptible, so blinded by your need for vengeance that nothing else matters_.

"What does Artemis have to do with Atlanta?" Orion asked impatiently.

"Atlanta is her prize pupil, my friend," Cronus answered.

Orion growled in annoyance, but I wasn't sure if that was because of what Cronus had just told him or because Cronus had patted his arm in what was, presumably, a gesture of reassurance.

"Artemis," Orion said.

"Surely you remember the day Artemis was challenged to hit an impossible target," Cronus said.

"She was told no one was that good," Orion continued the story. Then, he howled, as though remembering the pain of the arrow that had ended his life. "Atlanta is mine," he declared after a pause.

"Well, if you insist," Cronus responded.

Orion disappeared and Cronus laughed delightedly, clearly pleased with how he'd managed to turn Orion's admiration for Atlanta into an opportunity to bring about her destruction. Then, before I could get closer, he opened a portal and disappeared too.

Sighing, I turned and resumed my trek through the wood_s._

* * *

Sometime later, I was still pushing my way through the trees, snarling as I shoved another branch out of my path. By now, scratches from encounters with numerous tree branches covered my body, there were bruises on my toes from all the times I'd stubbed them on hidden stones and roots, and I was growing increasingly frustrated by my inability to find a path out of this wilderness. Suddenly, I came upon an unexpected scene. Standing in a clearing, I saw Atlanta and Orion facing each other.

"You've stopped running," Orion said.

"We need to talk," Atlanta responded.

"Just tell me where she is and I'll let you go," Orion told her.

_So that's it_, I thought, _Orion's not interested in destroying Atlanta he just wants to know where to find Artemis_.

Atlanta's response came as no surprise.

"Never," she snapped.

"You're a warrior," Orion responded, "I'll make this swift."

He aimed an arrow at her and Atlanta pointed her crossbow back at him. For a moment, they stood frozen. I thought for sure they'd shoot each other, but they just stood there.

_What are they waiting for_? I wondered.

Then, unexpectedly, Atlanta lowered her weapon.

"Put it down," she told Orion.

"You dare to…" Orion began.

"Just listen a sec," Atlanta interrupted.

"I have nothing to say to you," Orion answered, "or to her."

_Then why not shoot_? I thought. _She's obviously not going to tell you where to find Artemis, so why not just kill her_.

I knew why, of course, because he wanted Artemis, not Atlanta. Granted, killing Atlanta would cause Artemis grief, but Orion obviously wanted to confront the goddess who'd killed him, not just murder her protégée.

"There's something you should see," Atlanta told Orion.

She pulled something out of her pocket and tossed it toward him.

"You missed," Orion taunted as the object landed next to him.

"Take a look," Atlanta invited, making it clear that hitting him with whatever she had thrown had not been her intention.

Orion's gaze travelled to the item lying on the ground beside him.

"That's my…" he started in obvious surprise.

He turned his attention back to Atlanta.

"If you're trying to distract me," Orion growled, "it won't work."

"I don't want to fight you," Atlanta responded. "I just wanted you to know," she paused for a moment, "Artemis hurt you by accident. She was challenged and she's never forgiven herself for what she did. That's why she wanted to see you every night in the stars. She still loves you."

For a moment, I thought Orion would ignore Atlanta's words or dismiss them as lies, but he quickly dashed my hopes.

"She never could resist a challenge," Orion recalled his voice distant.

"Can you?" Atlanta asked softly.

"I never have before," he replied tersely.

"Me neither," Atlanta admitted quietly.

Orion's expression softened. He lowered his bow and returned the arrow to his quiver.

"Perhaps it's time we learned," he suggested gently.

Kneeling he retrieved the article Atlanta had thrown earlier and handed it back. The golden object glinted faintly and looking closely I could see that Orion wore a matching one on his right wrist.

_He must have given that one to Artemis_, I realized, _and seeing it again reminds him of the good times, they shared before she killed him. It also means he's no longer going to fulfill Cronus' request to track down the heroes' hiding place for us_.

"Tell her I miss her too," he requested, confirming my suspicions, then, in a blinding flash of light Orion returned to his place in the night sky.

I turned away and hurried to the crest of a nearby hill, hoping I'd be able to see a way out of this wretched forest. I had just reached the top when I heard Cronus' voice.

"Well, so much for that wish," he muttered. "But the stars can't keep aligning for those kids forever."

_I wouldn't bet on that_, I thought, _not the way their luck runs_.

A moment later, I caught sight of Cronus through the trees. I hurried toward him, anxious to avoid him leaving me behind again.

"Where have you been?" Cronus snapped when he saw me. "Never mind, come Agnon we can't afford to waste any more time stargazing. That worthless fool Orion has failed me and now I must devise a new plan to exterminate those meddlesome pests."

He continued ranting, but I wasn't really listening. My mind was back in the clearing with Atlanta and Orion trying to figure out how everything had fallen apart so quickly. Why was it that Orion was so willing to shoot Atlanta one minute and so willing to let her go the next? How had he managed to let go of the centuries of anger he'd harboured toward Artemis? Was it possible that the love he'd felt for her was strong enough to push it aside? I didn't have the answers and I knew I never would, there were some things I might never understand.

Cronus opened a portal for us, but before I stepped through it, I turned for one last look at the stars, wondering if I should have made my wish after all.

**A/N: Well, that's it for this chapter. I hope you liked it.**


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